Razor Lips
by Night Kunoichi
Summary: Why was it that everytime she played a game with him, she always seemed to lose a piece of herself in the process? The cards are down and two souls are about to learn that sentiment can be a powerful weapon.
1. Vicious Games

The night was deep and dark like most nights are but yet there was something different. The blackness was even more inky and thick, swallowing the stars and the moon with its gaping jaws. The air was tense and seemed to be filled with an unspeakable evil that choked whoever breathed. Whether this evil was real or imagined, Natasha Romanoff wasn't sure. It had been a long and unfruitful day at S.H.E.I.L.D. filled with discussing potential threats but being unable to find anything substantial. The headlights of her car pooled across the ground and the side of her apartment complex as she pulled up into her usual parking space. Her lithe legs swung out of the passenger seat and settled firmly onto the ground, the rest of her form following behind. Emerald eyes cast their gaze up to black sky, searching for any celestial light to shine through the darkness but turned back to the complex when none were found.

A sigh slipped past her full red lips as she walked over to the stairs where she would go to the third floor. It was nice being able to stay in her own home for a longer period of time now. Whenever she was sent on missions, for obvious reasons, she would have to get lodging elsewhere but since the issue with Loki, she had not been sent on many assignments. It seemed that the world was in shock after the attack and instead of looking to conquer each other, the different nations were concentrating on creating adequate weapons incase such a thing ever occurred again.

'No surprise considering that a large chunk of New York was almost leveled by forces that we didn't even believe existed.' Thought Natasha wryly.

Of course, there were some exceptions. There is always someone, somewhere looking to expand their power and cause problems but as of late, things had been quiet. It had almost been a year since Loki unleashed the Chitauri upon the earth with the Tesseract but yet the damage left behind still remained. And more than just the physical debris in Manhattan. Despite having the Avengers, the world was still on its tiptoes, waiting tensely for the next catastrophe to strike so it could dive for cover. Loki was gone but the lingering thought that there were other life forms in existence that may come to challenge the earth lay heavy upon everyone's minds.

But to Natasha, Loki had yet to leave. She had been haunted by his words, the snarled, venomous speech that he had hissed to her from his cell when they had first caught him still ringing clearly in her ears. Hawkeye had been recovered but she still had nightmares of the dark god returning, scepter in hand to corrupt her close friend again and have him carry out his promise. It was on nights like this where she woke with a sweat, terror still gripping her very bones and a dying scream on her lips. But even more than the nightmares, Loki had dragged to light that all of her sins, all of her guilt were never going to go away. She wished that those tears she had in her eyes were faked ones, tears that she brought on of her own will to further her interrogation but it was sadly not so. He spoke words that tore her apart more viciously than any razor could. Forever those sins would be a part of her and that bitter truth made the Avenger's victory against the God of Mischief in that final clash tasteless and dull. Of course it was good that they had saved the planet from being conquered but she had hoped to clean her slate and Loki had ensured that it would never be wiped.

She sighed again, running one hand through her red hair that had grown a little past her shoulders and the other hand slipped the key into the lock. The apartment was dark but that quickly changed when she flipped the switch and light flooded her living room. Before doing anything, any kind of relaxing, the spy did a sweep of her house and checked every nook and cranny to ensure that no one was there who shouldn't be. A nervous habit. When she had checked her bedroom, the last place on her list, Natasha returned to the living room. Green eyes locked onto her refrigerator peeking over the bar counter in her kitchen. Her graceful frame carried her over there, opening the door to peer inside. The red-head plucked a bottle of vodka from the shelves and poured herself a shot, quickly downing it. The clear liquid burned on the way down her throat before it settled into her stomach. She poured herself another shot, feeling the heat pool in her stomach.

In the end, she took 7 shots in fifteen minutes and the alcohol was slurring her brain. Her mind could still function, but the spy could feel her coordination and reflexes suffering under the influence of the alcohol. It was just this that motivated her to put the bottle of vodka back in her fridge. Her apartment complex was supposed to be safe since it was something that S.H.E.I.L.D. built as a safe place for some of its agents. But that didn't mean it was impenetrable and old habits die hard. She shouldn't have drank this much to begin with. Feeling a little unsteady, Natasha walked around the corner, depositing her guns on the dining room table, noisily. She turned sluggishly towards the stools that she had lined along the bar but froze.

Leaning against the counter to her bar was the last person she wanted to see and her heart fell out of her chest. Dark-hair as black as the night outside hung to his shoulders, his pale skin seemed almost luminous beneath the lights from the kitchen and living room. His eyes, a forest green, bore into her brighter ones all resting above that casual smirk of his. Covering his lean frame was his normal attire dyed in green and black hues with the occasional highlight of silver. It seemed a bit strange to see him lacking his scepter that he had used so fondly but that didn't make him any less dangerous.

Natasha went pale and she turned as quickly as the alcohol would allow her to the dining room table behind her where her guns lay. To her horror, Loki was standing right there his smirk growing to an amused one as she looked back over her shoulder to see that he was indeed, no longer standing at the counter. A low, quiet, rumbling laugh purred deep in his throat and it felt like velvet rubbing over her ears.

"Hello, Agent Romanoff."

"How are you here?" she demanded, taking a step back when he stepped forward.

"Oh, you didn't think that I was gone did you? That Asgard would be able to contain me?" He mirrored each one of her steps until she was backed against a wall.

"I suppose it was too much to hope." She admitted, using her petrified expression to her advantage.

Loki drew in even closer, a delighted grin across his lips.

"It must sting. Knowing that the victory you felt you earned with the Tesseract is a hollow one. That I am not gone, that I never **will** be gone."

'In more ways than one.' Natasha thought dryly.

Loki took another step and it was then that the Black Widow attacked. A barrage of devastatingly placed puches darted towards the green-eyed god, each fist certain to cause crippling pain. It was a shame that he deflected each one of her debilitating punches, his mouth curling into an even bigger smirk, forest eyes glowing with delight. When her hand attacks failed she started stringing in brutal kicks, forcing Loki back and giving her some distance from the wall that she had been against. Her right fist slipped past his defenses and collided solidly with his ribcage, earning her a soft grunt of pain and a few more backwards steps. It was then that Loki turned vicious, his lip curling upwards in a snarl and his hand shot forward and seized her by the neck. Natasha's throat spasmed at his sudden assault and she struggled for air around his grasp. However the Black Widow was not one to take being choked and so she unleashed yet another set of precise attacks. Loki was forced to release her because of those small but strong fists that hit him in strategic locations.

She coughed before continuing her assault, firing forward a powerful punch towards his face only to have it move out of the way. His pale hands seized her wrist and the red-haired woman suddenly found herself on her knees, arms twisted painfully behind her back. As hard as she tried to move around so she could free herself from his grasp, Loki kept her firmly pinned in place. His grip bruised her fair flesh and she could hear his low mocking triumphant laugh.

"Now **there's** where you belong." He purred with satisfaction, "Like the rest of your kind."

The hands that held her wrists were cold, like ice and seemed to cut straight through to her bone. But suddenly his skin began to grow hot as if it were a blazing poker set over a fire. Then his hands were cold again and they slipped casually off of her but to her horror, Natasha found that she couldn't move at all. As hard as she tried, she couldn't move from her position kneeling on the floor, her face still turned towards the carpet, arms pinned painfully behind her back. Then there was a creeping sensation crawling across her skin and suddenly she could move but her arms were still in place and it felt as if her knees were shackled to the ground. A growl slipped past her lips and she thrashed against her magical bonds but to no avail.

Natasha was not happy with her situation but was at least thankful that she could sit up instead of her back being hunched over in a forced submissive pose. She pressed herself upwards, her knees still to the floor, and raised her chin proudly, her emerald eyes searching for the God of Mischief. He was nowhere in front of her but she could hear his soft footsteps behind her and she could feel the smirk that he had on his face.

"The earth will not kneel to you." She told him defiantly.

"Oh but they will. Your race _craves_ leadership, _needs_ to be lead. I am simply fulfilling that need, satisfying that craving."

"Of course we need rulers. No established order is called _anarchy_ which only sounds good on paper. That being said we need a **ruler** not a **tyrant**." Natasha told him.

A hand snatched up her chin in a cruel grasp, forcing her to look into his endless green eyes. There was no sneer on his face, no delighted look. In fact there seemed to be no expression on his face aside from utter seriousness.

"I'm not a tyrant…" He murmured, "I'm a **god**."

The spy didn't think about her words, never had the chance because they were out of her mouth before she even had the opportunity to think them.

"A rejected god."

He snarled and seized her by the neck and dragged her to her feet. The next thing she knew, she was crushed against the wall, her lungs being deprived of precious oxygen as he squeezed even tighter on her trachea. Loki easily lifted her so her toes were just barely touching the floor and he drew himself close to her, trapping her effectively against the wall.

"Did it hurt? Hearing the truth about you?" He hissed in a deadly whisper against her ear.

Natasha didn't answer, couldn't answer she was far too deprived of air to form words. And she was too busy trying to gulp down the much needed air so she could live.

"Knowing that everyone of those nightmares you are tormented with will never be fixed?"

Loki seemed to take notice that she seemed to be losing color in her skin and dropped her back to her feet and slackened his hold on her throat. The red-head gasped gulping down every breath hungrily, not even noticing the dark god drawing even closer, pressing himself firmly to her. When at last the spy recovered herself, she set her jaw and looked him straight in the face but remained silent.

"Hm? I asked you a question." He said dangerously.

"I was playing the part you would most respond to. I had to learn what your game was on that ship."

He laughed, "Oh but it was more than that. You didn't come out unscathed from that little game. Do you have visions of Barton? Of him still in my control, killing you?"

"Barton's not under your control anymore."

"For now. How long do you think that will last? I plan to have that scepter back in my grasp. Until then….."

Cold lips were suddenly crushed against hers and a tongue forced its way into her mouth as he tightened his grip on her neck for control. Natasha growled against his oral assault and squirmed beneath his attentions but he pressed even harder against her mouth and his kiss became fiercer whenever she struggled against him. Loki growled against her and pressed his knee between her legs to help keep in place and easier to manage.

And suddenly she was kissing him back, pressing just as fiercely against his mouth as he was against hers. A wet tongue of her own engaged in battle with his fight for dominance, pressing as best she could to him. Loki's left arm snaked around Natasha's waist and trapped her body firmly against his while his right hand left the front of her throat to grip the back of her skull and started nibbling at her lower lip lustfully. The powers that held Natasha's arms behind her back receded and she wrapped them around his neck and she switched their positions, pushing him against the wall. The god gave an amused chuckle against her lips and trailed his own mouth to her neck and lifted her up from the ground so she could wrap her legs around his waist.

Loki was walking towards the kitchen, his teeth engaging with the soft skin of her neck, causing Natasha to hook her own teeth into his ear. A low growl purred in his throat at her attention to the shell of his ear and his assault upon her throat became more fervent. Her breathing was uneven and labored when she was set upon the kitchen table and Loki continued ravishing her neck. The red-head's thin but muscled arms unwound from his neck and darted to the side and faster than he thought possible, The God of Mischief had two Glock pistols in his face.

Silence.

The then two feminine lips curled triumphantly upwards to form a smirk in the face of the stunned dark-haired god, "Thank you, for your cooperation."

Not once, but twice now had Loki been tricked by this woman and he was not amused. It was never a pleasant experience when one is defeated in their own game and it is even more unpalatable when it is more than once. Unbridled rage gleamed in his forest eyes. Before those pools of color had the hue of a sun filtered forest but now they were as dark as the deepest woods as if the light of day had never reached their depths.

"I doubt even a god could take a couple of bullets straight to the head at this close of range. However if you want to test it," She pushed the barrels a little closer to his face, "Be my guest."

He backed away slowly, chuckling lowly, but fury still simmered in his verdant eyes, promising her pain the next opportunity he had.

"No need. I've done what I came for. I'll be back and when I do return in all my glory, there won't be a **thing** that you little Avengers can do to stop me."

And then he vanished leaving nothing but chilling echoing laughs behind him. Natasha let out the breath that she didn't even realize she was holding and slumped in relief. The black pistols in her trembling fingers were set back on the table and she touched her now bruising lips. He was gone and he had fallen for the ploy but like the last game they played, she did not come out unscathed. As much as she would really like to deny it, Natasha knew inside that she had not kept her mind clear that entire time. In fact, she almost lost herself and all control. She had enjoyed that kiss more than a little too much. And she was certain that he knew it.

"Damn you, Loki. Damn you."


	2. Black Sugar Plums

Chapter 2 Black Sugarplums

Nightmares are vicious things. These macabre visions produced by human mind are as close to hell as one could get without actually visiting personally. People could be unmade by these very images that plague them at night. For it is only our own brains that could produce dreams that depict the very things that we fear the most and it is one of the few times where we will engage in humanity's darkest sin upon ourselves; torture. For those unlucky few who undergo routine nightmares, they have to suffer with their worst fears, deepest regrets and their unbearable shame.

Loki, however, has found that nightmares are the perfect form of psychological warfare. With his magic, he has but to lay a hand upon the person's head and he could use his skills to stimulate the fear centers of the brain and then he just has to watch. Fear is far more contagious and infectious than any microbe, any disease that exists and once it is planted in the human mind, and it flourishes. For those who are afraid of the dark, every little shadow made by a piece of furniture is a creature lurking in wait. For those afraid of heights, taking an elevator ride sends nauseating images of them falling and crashing to their death.

The God of Mischief has used this magic many times, but recently he had been using it on one particularly infuriating red-headed spy. Loki had been coming to her apartment while she was sleeping almost every night since their encounter, filling Natasha's head with lucid dreams and mind wrenching nightmares. The dark-haired man did not like being bested in his own mind games and so, this was his form of retribution until he could reclaim the scepter and properly carry out his repayment in the form of Agent Barton.

Still, despite however sore he was feeling from when she tricked him the last time, Loki couldn't help but find her mind an interesting place. Most people would have memories of pleasant dreams lingering in their thoughts, but Natasha had no memory of sugar plums dancing in her head, no candy filled fields. It appeared as if Black Widow had never been filled with good dreams. Not even as a child. And yet it was interesting. Loki could see that the red-headed woman was a vicious person when it came to her work. She did what was necessary, as what would be expected from a spy and master assassin but yet there was still a care for those close to her. Natasha, despite her being exposed to the harshness of the world, still seemed to have care for other people. A rare thing in an assassin but yet she did not let this sentiment drag her down when the time came.

Shadows cloaking his form, Loki emerged into Natasha's dark bedroom, stepping with distaste over her discarded spandex suit lying in the middle of the floor. Messy. It was an odd thing, a home that Natasha rarely stayed in and yet it was as untidy like she stayed here routinely. The truth of the matter was that her apartment was messy because she was never home. Natasha was always out on missions and because she was rarely home she saw no point in working to keep it clean. There was also a part of her that enjoyed the mess. Every other part of her life as a spy and assassin was orderly and everything had to be pristinely perfect and planned. In her own home it was nice to see things in a more natural state and it even helped her relax, something she had extreme difficulty doing.

Underneath her pillow, there was a gun, loaded and ready and Loki knew it to be there because he could see it in her mind the first night he came to plague her with bad dreams. However, he had no need to remove it, he was skilled in his magic and she would not wake from her vivid nightmares until after he was gone. Cold, pale fingers hovered over the woman's lovely face and then settled gently on her forehead. Then he delved into her mind softly, like the faint whisper of a breeze through grass, and could see all her thoughts and fears had to offer. But there was something there that he hadn't noticed before. Turmoil had always been present in the agent's mind but tonight it was more focused on one particular thing.

Him.

Black Widow's thoughts were filled over confusion for him. The young woman had developed a sort of attraction to him that seemed mostly physical but there was something else there as well. A small feeling that she struggled to identify. It was not strong enough to be love but it seemed to be more than just contempt and hatred for him, although those two were definitely present. Natasha, in her own way, cared for him. Of course, at the moment, her intense dislike for him out ranked the small sentiment she held but there was the spark of something more. Frustration was evident in her sleep muddled thoughts, knowing that she held a sort of attachment for him but yet knew that she shouldn't. He was the enemy and she should not be developing any sort of emotion other than dislike for him.

Loki felt a sly smirk inch across his face.

"How amusing." He murmured softly and pulled more of those emotions to light.

This could work out to his advantage. He then conjured a nightmare.

In Natasha's dream, she was in a cell. The very cell that they had imprisoned Loki in. Clint was standing on the other side of the glass, anger and disapproval simmering in his now cold eyes. The spy flinched. She could handle many things but disappointment for her dearest friend was not one of them. What had she done? Why was he so angry with her?

"Tasha…" He muttered, "Why?"

"Barton…what's wrong?"

Natasha blinked and suddenly Hawkeye lashed out and punched the glass of the prison, "Don't you pull that with me!" He spat, "You know damn well what you did!"

She was stunned. Never had she seen her friend lose his temper like that and it was even more distressing that his anger was directed at her. Never in her life had she felt so much self loathing. She didn't even know what she had done but Barton's fury with her was enough to feel disappointed in herself.

"Why him? Loki of all people?"

Her heart froze and then she knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Barton I-"

"Shut up!" He growled.

The archer stormed away from the glass and stopped before the control panel tapping his fingers across the surface. There was a loud his and then the howling of wind as the bottom of the ship opened up beneath the container originally meant for the Hulk. Fear gripped her as she gazed pleadingly at her dearest friend and one time love.

"It's time you pay for what you did!" Bartone shouted.

And then the container fell as soon as he pressed the button. It twisted and spun and knocked Natasha around and she fought to break the glass futilely. The ocean raced up to greet her and never in her life had the assassin's heart beat so fast. Just before the container crashed into the ocean, Natasha had time to scream one thing with tears running down her face.

"I'M SORRY!"

Suddenly, she was back in her room, sitting upright with her fists clenched tightly around her gun pointing to nothing but an empty room. Sweat beaded on her brow as she gasped for breath, her mind still scattered from grogginess. When at last she calmed down, heartbeat and breathing in all, Natasha realized that she was just holding a gun in an empty room with not but a memory of a nightmare. A heavy and exhausted sight pried past two parted, red lips and the gun was set down upon the sheets of the bed. She buried her face in her hands as she tried to recollect herself from the disorienting nightmare. The blinds to her room were closed but even still she could see the moon attempting to shine through the cracks.

In the distance, a siren could be heard along with cars and late-night people who were still prowling the streets. With a groan, Natasha placed the gun back under her pillow, making sure the safety was back on, and lay back down. In an hour, she had drifted off to sleep again and once more the God of Mischief was standing by her bedside, feeling quite pleased with himself. That nightmare had had more effect than he originally thought it would. A malevolent grin broke across his face again, now pleased that he knew what kind of nightmares would affect her the most. A pale hand ghosted over her fiery curls, daring not to touch her too much since it could wake her. Loki still had one more dream that he wanted to plant into her mind.

It was the worst of them all. It was the kind that had Natasha jerking awake with a cry as she spasmed helplessly in the bed until at last she stilled and she was forced to rise from the mattress so she could change her underwear. The woman threw them in the laundry hamper with disgust, thoroughly disturbed that she had held such a dream. One that had been focused around Loki. Natasha ground her teeth.

'Even when he's gone he **still** won't leave me alone.' She thought cantankerously.

When she had changed into a clean pair of panties, Natasha did not go back to bed for she was afraid that more erotic dreams would plague her. Or more vivid nightmares. Instead Natasha went into the living room and pulled up her laptop and started a game of chess. It was an enthralling game and it did an excellent job and distracting her mind from the troubling dreams she had experienced. After playing three games with a difficulty setting on the computer, it was then that Black Widow realized she would get no more sleep tonight. In a fit of rage, she snatched up a vase and hurled it at the wall. When the pieces shattered and fell quietly to the carpet, there was little satisfaction to be had. The dreams were still haunting her and there was one realization that was still burned into her.

He was in her head now and she was never going to be able to get him out.

**A/N: I had originally planned for this story to be a one-shot but I got such quick feedback and positive reviews I've been inspired. This will likely be a short story but it does have the potential to become longer. This is a bit of a short chapter and for that I apologize. Anyway, R&R please! Let me know what you think!**


	3. Assembling Normalcy

Chapter 3 Assembling Normalcy; It Should Come With Instructions

It was another night, very early in the morning and the sun had yet to pry open its eyes and think to peek over the horizon to greet the world. In a few hours the sky would begin to tinge pink with the coming dawn, lightening the sky to fiery hues. Most were asleep at this hour, save for a few late-nighters who just didn't want to go to sleep. Except for Natasha, she had been rocked with yet another series of lucid dreams that had wrenched her from sleep. She had been sitting in a daze for the past twenty minutes, still in bed with her legs under the covers but her torso up right and she was still shaken to the core.

The nightmare was very similar to the one she had with Barton. She had been in the same cell, all reinforced glass and no hope of her breaking free. Bruce Banner had taken the spot of Clint and he was even more frightening than her enraged friend from the previous dream. Hawkeye's fury was clear and defined and easy for her to spot and read. However, possibly one of the brightest members of the team was staring at her, not glaring, but pinning her with an even look. But beneath that calm façade there was a lurking anger that only one could identify if they knew Banner. He was more than angry; he was furious. The good doctor was hanging by a thread, his rage setting him on the edge, an edge he could fall off at any moment. A thread that was ready to snap.

He gave a humorless chuckle, one he always did when he was on the verge of breaking, "I-It's always strange seeing someone in there."

Natasha's words were somber, "I can imagine."

"No you can't." he said a bit coldly.

"Why are you here, Banner?"

"Well I-uh-want to know why you did it. Wh-what was Barton not good enough for you? You had to get someone else? I-i-i-is that what it is?"

He was slipping. When Bruce got close to losing control he sometimes stuttered, not out of shyness but out of a difficulty of finding the words that he wants to say.

"I didn't mean for anything to happen, I never meant for anything to get started."

Natasha had barely finished her sentence before Banner raised his voice.

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" He yelled, "YOU'RE A BACK-STABBING LITTLE- AUGH!"

The doctor's natural beige shade was changing, tinting to an acid green and the red-head's heart stopped in her chest. Banner had stumbled away from the cell, clutching his head as he fought with himself to stay in control but he was soon on the ground, contorting into impossible and painful shapes on the floor. And then he was morphing, swelling in size, growing impossibly fast until at last he was the Hulk. His massive arms smashed the control panel for her cell and she heard the beams lock into place. To her horror she realized that this would prevent the cell from dropping. And if Natasha had a choice she would have preferred a fall to her death than being smashed to pieces by a massive monster.

He turned his eyes upon her and there was a brief moment of silence while both reacted to the situation and then Hulk charged, launching himself at the glass. Natasha rocketed herself to the opposite side of the cell as the beast before her continued to viciously attack the glass that was originally made to contain him. And when a large crater of cracks appeared in the glass, Black Widow screamed for the first time in many, many years and the crack just kept spider webbing outward. Thunder boomed in her cell with each impact his fist made on the glass, following by the whisper of weakening glass. Then her safety was destroyed as he smashed through the container and barreled towards her. She ended up waking with a scream moment before his fist collided with her body.

That was a horrible nightmare and she was thoroughly disturbed by it. She rather liked Banner and it had shaken Natasha to have images of him killing her again. This dream was far more frightening to her because this was something that would have a chance of happening. In the previous dream Barton was mad and that would definitely happen but he would never try to kill her. Not on his own. Natasha focused on the wall in front of her focusing on this particular small black stain to help keep her mind distracted. And then her cell phone rang, piercing through the silence and making the young woman jump in surprise. Cool hands sought out the device to cease its obnoxious ringing and when she looked at the caller ID she saw that it was Agent Hill.

Natasha felt nervous. If SHIELD was calling at 3:30 in the morning then it was something serious.

"Agent Romanoff. What's the situation?"

"Very grave." Hill answered, "The scepter has been taken."

Silence and an icy chill settled into her blood and the spy thought she was going to be sick.

"Loki has possession of it once more."

"And that means he can take control of whoever he wants." Natasha said gravely.

"Worse. Now that he has the scepter, he can get to the Tesseract again."

She took a breath, "What are my orders?"

"Commander Fury wants you to go try to assemble the rest of the Avengers if possible. We understand that Thor is impossible but get everyone else. We're going to be spending all of our efforts tracking him down and containing him.

'If that's even possible.' Thought Natasha irately.

"Understood. I'll see what I can do."

"Good. Thanks."

The two women ended the call to go about their business. Natasha rose from her bed, having lost the desire to sleep and began to get dressed, thinking over who she should start with first. She wasn't sure if Bruce would be up at this hour, plus she couldn't get to him quickly anyway considering he went back to Africa after he had a vacation with Tony. Calling him now probably wouldn't be advisable. That left Tony and Steve. Clint would have already been informed and given his own assignment to work on.

Stark's sleep schedule was irregular. Sometimes he stays up exceedingly late, others he will go to bed before midnight depending on what's happening in his life and if Pepper steps in. Steve, however would be awake. He pretty much never slept anymore because of how long he had been imprisoned in the ice. And she knew exactly where to find him.

While Natasha got dressed she was being torn apart by a powerful nagging feeling. And it wasn't a pleasant one. It was guilt. The Russian never did tell SHIELD about Loki sneaking into her apartment and she wasn't entirely sure why. She knew a part of it was because if she mentioned it, they would view it as the god targeting her and have her on constant surveillance and that was something that would not be received well by her. Natasha liked her privacy and that would be something nonexistent if they had people escort her every hour of the day. But yet, it was more than that but she wasn't sure what. Or maybe she didn't want to know what.

The woman groaned in frustration as she forcefully yanked her jeans on and went digging for a shirt. In the end she settled on a simple tank top with a scoop neck and pulled on some tennis shoes. If she had just opened her mouth about Loki being back they could have upped the security on the scepter and it might have prevented him from stealing it. Natasha knew she was kidding herself. If Loki had set his eyes upon acquiring that artifact then there wouldn't be a creature in this universe that could have stopped him. But she still felt guilty all the same.

"Alright, time to go visit the Captain."

XXXXXXXX

"I knew I would find you here."

Steve Rogers looked over to the red-head who he had not heard enter the old-fashioned gym. Before him was his fourth punching bag, his knuckles still wrapped in gauze and sweat clinging to his body.

"No surprise, I'm always here ma'am."

"Steve we're on the same team you don't have to call me that." She told him a little amused.

"I was raised with manners ma'am. That was one of the first things that shocked me about this world. Not many people seem to be polite anymore." He said, going back to punching the great bag before him.

"We've known each other for a year now, I'd say we're friends. Do you always call your friends, ma'am."

Captain America paused at that, "Fair enough."

He began punching again.

"You here with a mission for me, Natasha?"

The spy smiled a bit when he used her name at last but then spoke, "No. I'm trying to assemble everyone."

"Trouble brewing?"

"That would be a tremendous understatement." Natasha said dryly, "Actually I think irony fits this situation nicely."

"What do you mean?"

"Loki is free and he stole the scepter. That means he can now access the Tesseract again."

The Captain threw another hard punch it was the one that finally broke the punching bag, sending it crashing to the ground.

"So what do we do?" Steve asked, unwinding the guaze around his knuckles.

"For starters, find him. We can't do anything if we don't even know where he is to act."

"Easier said than done. You know that unless he wants us to, we're not going to find him."

"I know." Natasha agreed reluctantly, feeling frustrated, "But the only thing we can do is get everyone we can together and try to hunt him down."

"Alright. When do I head to the ship?"

"As soon as possible. I still need to get a hold of Tony and Bruce."

Natasha pinched the bridge of her nose at that sentence knowing that getting Tony to go along would probably be very difficult. The CEO seemed to enjoy making other people's lives a little difficult. She was sure that Steve would agree with her on that. But it probably won't be as hard to get him this time as it was the first time. Natasha checked her watch.

5:30 am

Tony would most definitely be asleep. One thing that was consistent about the billionaire was that he never did wake up early in the morning. He claimed that it takes a lot of sleep to maintain his amazingly good looks.

"Natasha?"

She snapped her head up, "Yes?"

"Would you….like to go get some breakfast?"

The red-head gauged his expression and his sentence, trying to figure out exactly what his intentions were. And then a smile spread across her face.

"Steve, are you asking me on a date?"

"I guess I am. Would you like me to not?"

"No. I think breakfast sounds nice. Did you have anywhere in mind?"

"How about Denny's? At least a few things haven't changed."

Natasha smiled even wider, "Sounds good. Let's go."

XXXX

Natasha couldn't even remember the last time she was on a real, no strings or tricks date. For the past several years all of her dates were for missions and it felt nice to have a real one just for the sake of having someone's company. It was a bit untraditional since it was very very early in the morning and the young woman didn't let the Captain go home to shower. It took some doing but he finally caved. She didn't need him to be cleaned up and in a way, him looking more like a human being who worked out made it seem more real in her head that this was just a normal date.

And Steve was a gentleman. Of course, she had expected no different but it was very strange but yet not unwelcomed when he would open doors for her, including to his car, an old model of mustang that he had tuned up. So they chatted amicably over their selective meals, him a stack of regular buttermilk pancakes, and her some crepes with fresh fruit and a side of hashbrowns.

"He really said that to you?" Natasha chuckled a bit before popping a piece of strawberry into her mouth, "'I watched you while you were sleeping.' Jesus, I hope Coulson is embarrassed in the afterlife if there is one for that comment."

Steve joined in on her amusement, "I'd say he was pretty embarrassed immediately after he said it for he scrambled to fully explain what he meant. At the time I was stressed about the situation we had on our hands with the Tesseract being stolen but looking back, it was funny."

Natasha took a drink of her glass of orange juice before cutting into another one of her crepes.

"And I bet you thought I was kidding about the vintage trading cards."

"I did." He confessed, "I just didn't think that someone his age would have a set of trading cards let alone vintage ones."

Contemplatively, she chewed her food, her green eyes going distant in thought and memory.

"You miss him." Steve said at her somber expression.

She said nothing, only nodded her head softly, not quite sure what to say.

"He was a good man."

"He was. And a good agent." She agreed.

They both fell into silence, staring at their respective plates, deciding that it was best that they didn't discuss that topic anymore.

"So how's Barton doing?" the Captain said, breaking the silence first.

"I don't think he's doing that well. He seems to have gotten more distant. I think he still blames himself for all of the things he did while he was under Loki's control."

"But that wasn't his fault. He couldn't have done anything about it." Steve protested.

"Would that have made any difference with you if your positions were switched?"

He fell silent again, contemplating his answer carefully. She continued on when he didn't answer.

"I think it would have affected me. I know that I wasn't in control, but those deeds would have been on my hands. I could live with it but that doesn't mean I would have to like it. At this point I think the only thing that he can do is learn to cope and try to move on."

They fell silent again and it made Natasha feel like she wasn't being as good of a date as she should be. Don't most girls talk more on these kinds of things? Almost every conversation they had had during this date was started by Steve because Natasha would just sit there quiet, unsure of what to say until a topic was produced. How do you be normal? She had been nothing but a spy all of her life and she wasn't entirely sure how it worked. All of her other missions she could ACT normal because it was a mission that had to be accomplished. This isn't a mission. It's just an outing with a friend. A real date. Had she even ever been on one? The only normal she has ever known is her life and to others her life would be the complete opposite of what normal was supposed to be.

"So what about you Captain? What's been up in your life?"

"Ah, nothing special. Just been training. That gym is as close to home as I can feel now. Everything is just so….."

"Different?" Supplied Natasha.

"That's an understatement. Everything is always so rushed and hectic, crazy. In the gym everything makes sense and the world just seems to stop turning."

"Yeah, I guess I can understand that. For me my apartment is my safe place. There I can feel a little more relaxed, not have to worry about missions. Of course I'm always still thinking about how my enemies could break in and try to kill me at any moment but that will never go away."

"How do you live like that?" Steve asked, his eyes sympathetic.

"It's the only way I know how to live. I've never known anything else."

"Is that why you took off from your vacation early?"

"Yeah." Answered Natasha, "I was feeling stir crazy. After the first week I had to get back in the field."

"Can't ever sit still, huh?"

"No. I guess I can't." She smiled.

Steve paid for their meals despite how Natasha protested and they both rode together back to the gym and then parted ways once she got in her car. Next step on her list was to call Banner and convince him to assemble as well. She thought about how difficult the task might be since last time he was pretty set on not joining up. But on the other hand, during the final fight with the Chitauri threat, he had proven himself to be a phenomenal threat and ally and he had done a great job in maintaining control over himself. Natasha pulled out her phone and dialed his number and waited patiently for someone to answer the phone. The assassin was not surprised when it was not the familiar voice of the doctor but some the voice of a woman who spoke and African language that she knew not how to speak. She was fluent in a few languages but did not know any of the African languages. So she said the only thing that she knew might work.

"Bruce Banner?"

The woman spouted out a few more words but said nothing more and she could hear the unfamiliar language being spoken by many people in the background, some loud, some soft but she could not make out a word of it. After a few minutes of waiting, finally a familiar voice came over the phone.

"This is Bruce Banner."

"Hey Bruce. Been a while."

"Agent Romanoff. I-uh-I take it that I'm being called in?"

"Yes." She answered simply.

"I don't know if that's a good idea. You know I-"

She cut him off.

"Loki's back."

"What?" Bruce asked incredulously.

"He's back. And he has stolen the scepter."

"Which means he can get a hold of the Tesseract again."

"Precisely. We already have some of our agents working on finding him but you are our biggest hope. Since the scepter is fueled by the cube we are hoping that it is also emitting some gamma rays. Which means we need you."

"Alright. Will SHIELD be sending a plane to get me or am I on my own with transportation?"

"I'll see what I can do about a jet. See you soon Doc. I'll have SHIELD contact you."

"Ok. Well I'll see you very soon."

'I wish it was under different circumstances.' Natasha thought with exhaustion.

The young woman hung up the phone and decided that she needed to wait a few more hours before attempting to speak to Tony. Then her lip curled in a smirk. On the other hand, why wait?

XXXX

Everything was silent. The large windows harbored in the stunning view of the city of New York and the warm sunlight into the living room in the Stark tower. In the sink in the kitchen there were a few empty glass tumblers and a few plates. The couches were neat and of a crisp white leather, only the most expensive there was. All was peaceful. That is until a small disk was hurled at the window where it exploded upon contact, sending a rain of glass to fall upon the thick carpet and the concrete below. Within seconds, the dark-haired billionaire was rushing out into the living room, clad in only his boxers, looking wildly around for the one responsible for the disturbance.

"Hello Stark."

Natasha was reclined leisurely on one of the couches, her legs stretched out comfortably before her, red lips quirked in an accomplished smirk.

"Ah, hey Princess. You know, most people typically knock. That window's coming out of your paycheck by the way."

"Well I'm assuming most of those people aren't dealing with a narcissistic billionaire who tends to avoid all contact with work. And it's a good thing that you don't provide my paychecks." She answered slyly.

"Details, details." Tony said dismissively, "Seeing as you're here and I have a destroyed window, I can only assume that SHEILD has sent you. You know, for an organization who didn't want me on the team, they seem pretty pushy about getting me to work."

"Well, what can I say? We like giving you a hard time as much as you do us."

Tony chuckled, "Well I hope you don't mind but I'd like to put a shirt on unless seeing me like this was your intention all along, Princess?"

Iron Man smirked lecherously before Natasha rolled her eyes, "Don't flatter yourself. I'd rather you in a shirt."

"I understand you find me distracting, I have that affect on a lot of people."

He winked before disappearing back into his bedroom before emerging a few minutes later in a pair of jeans and his favorite Black Sabbath tee-shirt, though still barefoot.

"So, what does old Cyclops need this time? Money, my soul, a glass eye surgery, for me to put on a cheerleader outfit and dance like a hooker?"

Natasha smirked at the last comment and chuckled a bit before getting serious again.

"Loki's back."

"Ahh so Reindeer Games is bringing about good tidings again, is he?"

Black Widow stared at him.

"You know, big horns, you have seen his helmet right?"

She shook her head and continued on, "He has the scepter too. We need the Avengers to assemble."

"So I take it Legolas is already informed about this…."

Natasha made a face at Tony's nickname for Clint but said nothing.

"What about the Star Spangled Banner?"

She frowned at him, "Yes, Captain America has been informed."

"Honestly, am I the only one with a sense of humor? What about the Green Giant?"

Silence.

"You know Bruce, looks like the Green Giant on those cans of vegetables? Is everyone in SHIELD incapable of taking a joke?" Tony said with a bit of exasperation at his plight.

Apparently it was a horrible occurrence for people to not play along with his jokes.

"What about M.C Hammer?"

Natasha decided that it was pointless to continue pinning him with pointed looks and played along like he wanted, "Thor is the only one we haven't contacted. We have no way to with him in Asgard. We can only assume that he will soon realized that Loki is gone or when Loki tries to take the Tesseract that he will come to us. Until them, we have no options of reaching him."

"Right. Time to save the world again? I suppose I could always use more publicity. You sidekicks can get some screen time too if you want."

The spy rolled her eyes, "Good bye, Tony."

Natasha exited the Stark building, running her fingers through her long flaming curls before heading back to her car. Most of the Avengers were now assembling and with them as was her old life. SHIELD was kicking it into high gear and trouble was brewing on the horizon. Everything was definitely returning to normal.

**A/N: I thank all of you who have favorite my story and reviewed. I am getting far more feedback on this than I originally thought and it makes me smile that you guys like it. Sorry no Loki in this chapter but I promise you, he will be back. And I couldn't resist putting a bit of Captain America x Black Widow in here since I think that they are a bit of a cute couple. xD Anyway, I hope to try to update again soon but it might take a bit since I'm not entirely certain what I want to do with the next chapter. Hopefully I'll have it up and running by the end of next week. Thanks again to all who have read! Please leave me a review! :D**


	4. Blindsided

Chapter 4 Blindsided

It has been a week since the Avengers assembled again and they had yet to find any sign of Loki. It almost seemed as if he had vanished from existence. Natasha thought back to Steve's words when she approached him. He was right. There was no way they were going to find Loki unless he wanted them to. Their hope that the Scepter emitting gamma rays was an empty one. It may be fueled by the cube but the artifact itself was not kicking out strong enough waves for them to track through gamma radiation. Much to everyone's chagrin. Still everyone seemed to be getting along fairly well aside from the bickering that would occur, usually thanks to Tony but nothing serious.

Natasha was exhausted. Her nightmares were getting worse, depriving her of more precious sleep, and she had been running off of six hours worth of sleep for the past three days. She was always the last one on the ship to go to bed and the first one to rise and it was beginning to take a toll. Soon she was going to have to get some proper sleep or she wouldn't make it. Recently she had been dreaming of Barton, coming to her room and at first she would welcome her friend but then she would get a look at his eyes and see that they were clouded with a misty blue. Then she would suddenly be unable to move her body and Hawkeye would proceed to cut her with a knife, tracing patterns across her skin, leaving fresh seeping blood behind. The torture felt like it would go on for hours, all the while Clint whispering sweetly in her ear how it would all be over soon before at last he would plunge the knife into her chest. And everytime the last thing she would see is his eyes clearing up, his mouth contorting into a horrified and anguish filled scream before Loki would appear behind him with a triumphant sneer and crack his skull with the scepter.

This nightmare would always leave her lying in bed, eyes wide open, swimming with tears, as she fought to shake away the memories of her bad dreams. Why was she suddenly being plagued with these nightmares? Natasha has never had such a problem. Of course her sleep has always been haunted by the wrong deeds she has committed but never to this severity where it interfered with her sleep. She feared what sort of horrible images her mind would conjure up next. But even more than that she feared that her more recent nightmare would become reality. Little did Natasha know, she wasn't the only one suffering from horrible dreams. Loki had been toying with Barton's mind as well and he had been doing so long before he had visited Natasha.

Things were quiet again. All of the Avengers, even Steve were asleep. The only people awake on the ship were all people who worked on the bridge keeping watch of the ships engine and computers. Otherwise, everyone was asleep or in their rooms. The Russian had retired to her room as well but she was almost afraid to go to bed. Natasha dreaded what kind of images would await her when she closed her eyes and had been sitting contemplatively for the past hour, putting off sleep. However, no matter how hard you try you can't avoid your body's needs and you can't run away from your mind.

"Can't sleep?" drawled a familiar voice.

The assassin leapt from her seat on the bed and snatched up the closest weapon to her, which was a knife and lunged towards the source of the voice, planning to eliminate the intruder. Natasha didn't make it very far before she found her arm wrenched behind her back painfully, a sharp clatter echoing in her ears, before the knife was pried from her grip and held at her throat. The intruder pressed harder on the delicate skin on her neck, forcing her to turn her head back to keep her flesh from being sliced open.

"Or is it that you don't want to sleep?" continued Loki in her ear.

"What are you doing here, Loki?" Natasha growled, going deathly still in his grasp.

"That hurts Miss Romanoff. You didn't miss me?"

"I miss your absence." She shot back, quickly.

"Your charm is so overwhelming. It's no wonder Barton has been thinking of you so much recently."

The color drained from Natasha's face, fear creeping up to clench her heart in its vicious grasp.

"You've been to see him?"

"Did you think yourself special? That I only came to visit _you_? That I only gave _you_ nightmares?"

"You're-!"

He cut her off, "The one who's responsible for your sleepless nights? Oh yes. And I have to say, Barton is much more amusing to watch and torment. He **always** screams. I rather suspect he'll break soon."

"If you touch him I swear I'll-"

"You'll what? What can you do to stop me, you pathetic girl?"

"I will kill you." Natasha promised as he forced her head back farther to look her in the eye, "I will utterly destroy you."

There was a moment of silence, one that seemed to last forever and plant the worry in the spy that she had angered Loki. However, her fears were calmed when he began to laugh lowly, his chest vibrating against her back. Dark green eyes swept over her back and although the spy couldn't see it, she could feel it.

"Well, you are off to a wonderful start." He purred, "What am I to do? How will I ever defend myself against such a mighty mortal as yourself?"

Natasha remained silent, glaring at the wall, wishing that she could do something to kill that sarcasm of his. Those mocking words, teasing smirk and taunting expression made her so frustrated that she had, once again, found herself at his mercy. The cogs in her brain were turning but Black Widow was not getting ideas on how to get free of his grip.

"Perhaps I should get Agent Barton for protection."

It was then that the spy turned vicious, thrashing against his hold and it was only then that she realized, at some point, Loki had paralyzed her left arm. Natasha wasn't sure when he had rendered her sole free arm useless but now she was incapable of using it and her right arm was pinned in an inescapable hold behind her back. There were many things that she could have done but the knife held close to her throat would make almost all of them deadly for her. She would not get out of his hold by force, which meant she had to reevaluate her approach.

"Ooh did that touch a nerve? Remind you of certain nightmares that have been plaguing your sleep?" He whispered against her ear.

A threatening growl slipped behind her teeth and she fought against his hold on her but the more she struggled against his hold, the tighter he twisted her arm, eventually forcing her to still her resistance against him. Faintly she could feel a few liquid drops rolling down the svelte curve of her neck and she knew it to be blood. Finally she stilled completely, focusing on calming herself down so she could think clearly.

"The only one plaguing my nightmares," she lied, "Is you."

"I'm flattered." He chuckled malevolently.

She stiffened again when those words were spoken against the side of her throat but he did nothing beyond speak against her skin.

"However," Loki continued with his cheek resting against the side of her head, "It is pointless to lie to me."

"Is this a sort of revenge for me outsmarting you a week ago?"

When there was no response a smirk curled across her lips.

"As the God of Mischief it must **eat** at you to be bested by a mere mortal not once but **twice**."Natasha sneered, "Aren't you ashamed?"

A creeping coldness slowly washed over her and when it at last encompassed her whole body, Black Widow fell limp in Loki's grasp. Emerald eyes rolled in their sockets as he took the knife from her throat and dropped it and used his newly freed hand to hold her more securely. Then she was settled into a chair, facing a full length mirror. Natasha's face held a blank expression since she was completely paralyzed and could only stare straight at the reflection she was faced with.

The dark figure of the Asgardian loomed over her, bent forward at the waist with his hands propping himself up on the arm resters. Raven hair fell a little over his shoulders as he stared at her reflection. Circles loomed beneath his eyes, hinting that she had not been the only one with sleepless nights and his skin seemed paler than she remembered it. The sole dim light in her room cast gaunt shadows across his face emphasizing the cruelty behind his sneer.

"It's going to happen, you know." He promised darkly, "I'll have Barton start with your face first."

A cold finger drifted up to her cheek where it began to trace imaginary shapes across her skin. Natasha tried her hardest to move but not a single muscle would obey her commands. The only part of her body that would do what she wanted was her chest, which rose and fell in time with her breaths.

"Then he'll cut out your tongue all while he whispers how it's going to be ok."

That finger turned into a hand that slid down to brush against her mouth.

"After that he'll break your fingers," A hand engulfed her own.

"One." He roughly twisted her first digit, hard enough to cause discomfort but not pain.

"By." Another finger.

"One."

The last finger gave a soft pop beneath the force applied but no harm was done.

"And then he will kiss you so lovingly, like he has always wanted. Then he will **carve** your body and you will **scream**."

His hand embraced her throat as if he planned to strangle her but applied no pressure. While her expression could only remain blank, her heart was breaking. Whether it was because of Loki's magic messing with her mind or because of his detail, Natasha could see everything he said play out in her mind. It was a wound that dug deeper than any blade to see her cherished friend in such a state.

"And when at last he's done, I'll have him tell you that he loves you before ramming a blade through your chest." He growled into her ear, the grip on her throat tightening dangerously, "And you will be alive long enough to see his horror and hear his scream of anguish."

Suddenly his grip turned vicious and it forced her to look him the face where his deep forest eyes bored heavily into hers, "Then he will die with you."

Warmth tingled back into her face as Loki's magic receded so she would be able to form facial expressions. Then it sank lower until at last, she had complete control over her entire body. She took a moment to recollect herself, not hearing the god's dark whispers against her ear. Then Natasha knocked his left arm out from underneath him and darted her hands up to yank him downwards, flipping him over the chair. She snatched up the knife that was lying by the chair and leapt upon Loki, straddling his waist, with the knife pressed to his throat.

"You will not," She snarled, "Touch him."

"Are you planning to stop me, Agent Romanoff?" He asked amused.

"Yes."

"Then why haven't you cut my throat yet?"

Natasha's eyes widened slightly at his question and it caused her to drop her guard. Faster than she thought possible, Loki twisted her arm and the knife was released from her grasp to fall uselessly to the floor. The world spun around her and then she was on her back, arms pinned above her head. She snarled and thrashed beneath him but his hold was strong and there was not a way where she could get him off of her.

"Now what would Barton think?" he smirked, "What would the rest of the team think? Holding sentiment for your sworn enemy?"

"I'd call it pity." Black Widow said calmly.

His eyes turned as icy as his skin and then his hand took hold of her jaw, upper lip curling in malice.

"And why would a god need your pity?"

"I never said you needed it." She said, "But all the same I pity you. You claim yourself to be superior to all. But just like other humans, you have been made a slave to your hate until it is all you know. You seek vengeance upon your brother and all else he favors because you cannot let go. Even if you wanted to, you could **never** let go of the road you have taken for revenge."

Loki snarled and pressed her head and jaw fiercely into the floor before hissing in her ear, "You think to say you know me? A mere, **pathetic** mortal like you? You think you're so clever?"

"See? You lashed out in anger. This is a part of you that you have yet to acknowledge."

The god glared hatefully at the woman beneath him who infuriatingly held his gaze, undeterred by his violence.

"It is a part of you. And it will **never** go away."

The words she spoke caused her to hold a small quirk in the corner of her lips as she recited the very words he had spoken to her a year ago and he did not seem at all pleased with her using his words against him. It would seem that she was starting to win again and Loki did not like losing at his game one bit. His green eyes narrowed and he seized a fistful of her hair, yanking her head back but still ensured that her eyes were met with his.

"Do not assume to know me. You will be gravely disappointed when you find that you do not."

"You plan to kill me now?"

He smirked then, "Oh no. I believe that is Barton's job. For now, I am done with you."

The pale hand tangled into her fiery locks slackened and slipped away to settle on the top of her forehead letting a prickling coldness settle over once again. The world began to blur and grow hazy until at last her eyes fluttered shut again. When she woke it was six in the morning and she held not in her head but vague memories of a dream that she had with Loki there to terrorize her. The assassin swung her graceful legs over the edge of the bed throwing back the covers and headed to the bathroom where she could shower. As she climbed into the hot stream of water, she never noticed the barest thin existence of a cut that was on the side of her neck.

**A/N: Sorry it took so long. Things have been a little difficult recently. First up I've had a pinched nerve that has pretty much rendered my right arm useless because moving it causes me pain for nearly two weeks. So this chapter has pretty much been written one-handed. Also my computer crashed and I only just got it fixed. One problem after another. =_= Hopefully soon I'll get the issue with my arm fixed. Also as of next Tuesday my updates will be slower. I will be taking a difficult class over the summer at my college and it will take-up a considerable amount of my time. I'll try to update as quickly as I can. **

**Finally, reviews fuel my fire! The more feedback I get, the more inspired and excited I get which should help with me pumping out chapters! :3 Thank you all for your support!**


	5. Knife's Edge

Chapter 5 The Knife's Edge

The Avengers were all frustrated. Despite SHIELD's best efforts, they have had no luck in tracking down Loki. Every method they had for searching for him had failed miserably. Because of this failure, everyone was irritated. Barton was especially bothered by the God's elusive nature and he seemed to be on edge at all hours. It was becoming obvious to Natasha that he was suffering from lack of sleep as well. The bags beneath his eyes had grown more dark and prominent and his reflexes seemed to be slowed. The archer just seemed so _weary_.

The red-head cast her green gaze back in the direction of her friend sitting at the table with the rest of the Avengers. Clint was attentive as he always was in meetings, but she could see the heaviness and the tension weighting down upon him. Natasha turned her gaze back to Fury, who was standing in front of the table, still silent. The director had been standing there for a few minutes. His expression was severe and frustrated.

"We have no way of tracking down Loki." He finally said, "We have pooled all of our resources and cannot track him down. Which means we have to look for another option."

"What do you suggest, sir?" Asked Steve.

"We assume that Loki will bring the Tesseract here and we need to figure out where he will have it set up."

"Why would he bring it back here where the Avengers can get him?" Agent Hill asked from next to Fury.

"Loki views humans as no threat to him but Asgardians would stand a strong chance of tracking him down and taking back the cube." Natasha said, "So he will view earth as the likely best option to prepare the Tesseract again. He already tried to take over the world and we have no reason to believe that he has changed that goal."

"So what you're saying is that we need to keep our ears to the ground on possible locations for him to set up the Tesseract?" Banner said rubbing his chin in thought.

"He'll also need another team of scientists to set up the cube for him." Clint added from his seat.

"Hey Cyclops, you did move the two astrophysicists that are buddy buddy with Thor, right?" Tony asked, leaning back casually in his seat.

Director Fury pinned the billionaire with an unamused glare but said nothing about his nickname and continued on.

"Yes. Selvig and Foster are both in protective custody and are being closely monitored."

Relief seemed to settle over the group but Natasha was unconvinced. If Loki truly wanted to get those two to work for him to prepare the Tesseract, there was likely not a damn thing SHIELD could do to stop him especially now that he has the scepter back. She looked to Clint again and this time he met her gaze. Based on his expression, he was thinking the same thing as her. However, it was possible that the God of Mischief would elect to take control of some other talented scientists but Natasha seriously doubted it. Selvig and Foster were brilliant scientists and furthermore, they were close friends to Thor which made them an even bigger target.

"SHIELD is now going to use all of its resources in locating places that Loki could set up the cube while he tries to gather others to help set it up again. We're going to also call up all labs we know to place their spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for Gamma rays like last time. We'll still have you on standby for that Dr. Banner." Fury said, "The rest of you be ready for us to send you out at any time. We may not know where Loki is now but you are still a response team."

Stark leaned forward in his chair, "Time out for a sec, Panteen ProV."

A muscle in Fury's jaw twitched as he firmly clamped his teeth together. Natasha couldn't help but smile at Tony's jab at the director's lack of hair.

"So we already know that the two scientist friends of Goldilocks are under protection. How about looking into other scientists that Mr. Tall, Dark and Gruesome could use? We keep tabs on them, we could get an idea of his movements and maybe stop him before he can even set up the cube." The billionaire pointed out.

Captain turned to look at him, "That probably means that he'll head for easier access ones so he could get them with less trouble."

Tony waved him off dismissively, "No we're not dealing with any lunatic who wants to enslave the entire world. This guy, no he wants to flaunt his strength. He always has. He'll strike the big leagues, one's that are hard to reach. He wants to go there and he wants us to **know**. It's a demonstration. He's going to go after whatever one's would be under the heaviest guard to show we can't stop him."

Natasha straightened in her chair, "Selvig and Foster."

Iron Man nodded, "Exactly. But he'll also need more than them. Other scientists of great repute would be prime candidates too. We need to monitor them. If we keep eyes and ears on them, then we can strike at him then while he's trying to take them."

"Agent Hill," Fury ordered, "Double the security on Foster and Selvig. And I want a constant video and audio stream of them and any other major scientist we can get our hands on running here in the bridge at all times."

"Yes sir."

The woman in question strode off to carry out the orders given to her, leaving everyone else still at the table. Fury turned to address the rest of the group.

"Banner, Stark, I want the both of you doing research into possible targets that Loki will go after. Major scientists, security division, anything you can think of, I want you two looking into it. Report any finds immediately to me. The rest of you, sit tight and be ready to move."

Everyone rose from their respective seats and set off to go their own way. Tony and Bruce went off together where their research room was so they could immediately set to work. The two were already discussing any scientists they knew. Steve rose and went off in the direction that Natasha knew to be the Training room. Clint was likely heading off where he could be alone but the spy wasn't willing to let that happen yet.

"Tasha." Clint said in greeting when she fell in stride next to him.

"Clint. How are you holding up?"

Hawkeye was good at hiding his emotions but Natasha was even better at interpreting them especially when it came to her friend. She could detect a faint annoyance in his voice. And there was a small down turn on the left corner of his mouth that always appeared whenever he was mildly irritated with something.

"Fine." He replied shortly

"Clint, you may be able to fool others but you can't fool me." She chided, "Something is bothering you. You obviously haven't been sleeping."

"Just like you?" He shot back coldly.

"Yes. I've been having bad nightmare Clint. Worse than usual." She confessed.

"I….Sorry Tasha. You're right. I'm exhausted and it's been getting to me. Now that Loki's back I keep having dreams that he's taking over my mind again with the scepter."

"He's not going to come after you again, Clint." Natasha assured him.

'I'll make sure of it.' She thought with determination.

"I do hope he does." Hawkeye said, a fierce look on his face, "Then I'll finally get to put an arrow in his eye socket."

Natasha smiled at him and chuckled, "I think you might have to fight many people to get that honor. Although I'm certain you will make sure you are the first in line when it come to hurting the God of Mischief."

"You can bet your ass I will." He said with a confident smile of his own before letting his face grow serious again, "What about your nightmares, Tasha?"

The spy hesitated, coursing slender fingers through her fiery hair. She wasn't sure what she should tell Clint. Natasha didn't want to inform him how her most disturbing dream revolved around him killing her. She also didn't want to tell him what Loki had said to her when they had him imprisoned on the helicarrier. If she told her friend any of these not only would he become worried for her, his nightmares would likely become worse. Barton did not need anymore stress.

"Just….flashing back to when Loki spoke to me. I'd rather not say anything more than that."

"I understand. I'm sure we both look forward to the day where we ensure that he can't get back up again." He said with a sympathetic look.

"You have no idea."

Natasha's fingers drifted up to touch her lips, the memory of him brutally kissing her before all of this trouble started, surfacing in her mind. She had not seen anything of Loki since that night but yet that memory still haunted her. What had driven him to do such a thing? Was it a way to weaken her resolve? To worm his way deep into her mind? If that was his goal then he already was succeeding.

"Tasha, what happened to your neck?"

A moment of silence fell between the two and the young woman ghosted her fingers over her neck. Beneath the calloused pads on her fingertips, she could feel a cut gracing the skin of her throat.

"I'm not sure. It wasn't there before I went to bed."

Suddenly her heart fell out of her chest and she momentarily worried that it was lying on the floor for all to see. Realization was coursing through her, though she dared not to show it on her face. Everything made sense at that moment. She turned to Clint.

"It's probably nothing. I'm going to try and go get some more sleep." She lied smoothly.

Then she left the archer to head off to her room, thoughts swirling in her mind. It hadn't been a dream she had last night, it was real. Loki had sneaked into her room and attacked her. No. She attacked him first. Either way, that exchange that she thought she had dreamed, had been reality. And that meant he was bothering Barton as well as her. He did tell her that he was giving both of them nightmares. A frown tugged at her lips. That meant that Loki could break into the Helicarrier whenever he wished. Fury needed to know about this immediately. A new goal in mind, she changed direction and went in search of the director.

The director's facial expression was mimicking his namesake at that very moment. If Natasha were a lesser woman, she would have been intimidated but as it were, the red-head maintained a blank facial expression. She could hardly blame Fury for his reaction, especially knowing now that at anytime, Loki could come and kill anyone of them. His dark, anger-filled eye locked onto her in an accusatory look.

"Why did you not say anything sooner, Agent Romanoff?" He demanded tensely.

"It only happened last night." She explained, "And Loki worked his magic so I thought it was just a nightmare. It wasn't until Barton pointed out the cut on my neck that I realized that it wasn't a dream."

Nick leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk before him then propped his chin. A muscle twitched in his jaw as he contemplated the situation. Natasha stood silent before him, waiting for his reaction and his judgement on what to do on the matter. He was still angry, she could tell, but now possibly not at her but the precarious situation they were in. Then, after a few minutes, he opened his mouth to deliver his thoughts on the matter only to be cut off before even one word could be spoken.

"You know, Panteen ProV, I told you to go investigate that hemorrhoid problem, it looks painful for you to sit. I'm sure SHIELD could find you a good proctologist."

"Stark, you better have a good reason for barging into my office." The director snapped impatiently.

"As a matter a fact, I do. Seems Agent Hill is having a conniption fit because on the live feeds that are supposed to be on the two astrophysicists is drawing a blank. Not to mention all of the security on the place seemed to have all left for coffee."

Natasha's eyes darkened, "Loki's made his first move."

"So we need to assume that Selvig and Foster are now working for Loki." Fury said gravely, rising from his seat, "Are you and Banner conducting that search to track down other scientists."

"Not to worry. Jarvis is on it and we'll have a plan for Reindeer games."

"Good." Fury turned back to the red-head, "You are dismissed Romanoff. And stay quiet and watch your back."

She nodded to the director and left the office. Nick was worried for her and she couldn't blame him. If she was a superior officer and one of her best men was being targeted by a dangerous god, she would be worried too. Green eyes drifted to an agent walking by her, thinking about the secret she was to keep. Natasha understood why Fury wanted silence on the matter. If other crew members knew that they were at risk for being attacked by Loki at anytime, there would likely be panic on the ship and it was crucial for order to be maintained.

Natasha's mind was burdened with worry. It was unsettling to think that Loki could come onto the ship at anytime he wished and it was even more disconcerting that he was invading her mind to fill it with nightmares. Was he visiting her nightly? Or did he only have to use his magic on her mind once? The red-haired spy set her path for the training room. After discovering this, she needed to work off her stress. But at the back of her mind, Natasha had many thoughts. But there was main one that kept popping up.

If Loki could get onto the helicarrier whenever he wanted, how long would it be before he began to attack those on board?

A sigh pried its way past her lips as she stepped into the training room. She knew that there would be no sleep for her tonight. And possibly for many nights to come. Natasha had dealt with many unpleasant things during her career as a spy for SHIELD and even before hand but never had she experienced something like this. Putting it lightly, the red-head felt violated. Even if someone is brutalized physically, the mind is always a safe harbor from the misfortune, the one place that people cannot touch. But that barrier did not exist with Loki and it disturbed her to think that he had possibly sifted through her thoughts, her memories and her emotions. What had he seen? Did he even look at all?

A powerful fist collided with the padded target, a dull thud cutting through the quiet air. It was already uncomfortable enough for Natasha to think how she would no longer be safe in her own bed at night but even more so that now even her own mind could be under siege. A physical attack, she could defend herself but how do you protect yourself from someone delving into your head? It had been a very, very long time since the Russian felt helpless. And she had forgotten how much she hated it.

She was walking upon the edge of a knife and it was only a matter of time before she fell upon it.

**A/N: Click the pretty review button. :3**


	6. Subterfuge

Chapter 6 Subterfuge

The room was beginning to feel almost unbearably hot. Of course, skin tight leather was never conducive to maintaining a cool body temperature. The fluorescent lights were bright and only seemed to contribute further to the brutal heat that seemed to be unbearably blanketing the room. Natasha shoved some of her sweat coated hair behind her ear. The spy was now irritated with herself for letting her tresses get so long as they only got in the way. Frustrated, she tossed her hair into a messy pony tail and continued her vicious attacks upon the padded dummy. With the way she was striking, one would think that the practice dummy had done something to her personally. Every blow Natasha delivered was filled with power and viciousness not the exact and precise attacks that she normally used. And she was so absorbed into what she was doing that she had no idea that Steve had been watching her and didn't hear as he drew close to her.

"You okay?"

Natasha whipped herself around at the sound of the voice barely a foot from her and she lunged, knocking over Steve and pinned him to the floor, her forearm pressed brutally against his throat. The Captain did not fight against her, just waited patiently for her to realize that he was not an intruder that had come to hurt her. It took a few moments until finally Natasha realized that she had not attacked an intruder but a team mate and rose so he could get up.

"Sorry."

"Don't be." He said, "I should have known better to surprise a spy especially when she is clearly bothered by something. Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm fine." Natasha said a bit tensely.

"That didn't look like you were fine."

"It's nothing I just…."

What should she tell him? Obviously telling him that at any moment this Helicarrier could come under attack wasn't an option now that Fury ordered her express silence on the matter. Should she tell him about the nightmares she'd been having? No, she was a grown woman, not a quivering child, even if it was the God of Mischief himself who had caused the images. She also couldn't tell him that she feared for Barton because that would mean telling Steve that Loki could get on the ship whenever he wanted to.

"Have a lot on my mind." She finished finally.

Natasha had spoken with a tone that was not unfriendly but it said that she would brook no more questions on the matter. And the Captain picked right up on it and chose not to pursue it any further, so he dropped the subject.

"Well if you ever need to talk, I'm here."

"Hm." She said noncommittally.

"How about you take a break? There's a bar down in the research room with Banner and Stark."

Black Widow gave Steve a funny look.

"But SHIELD doesn't place bars in our facilities."

"Well, apparently SHIELD didn't bank on Tony Stark taking his whole alcohol collection with him." Steve said dryly.

An amused smile quirked at Natasha's lips. This news came as no surprise to her since the billionaire had his own agenda and apparently, bringing his own bar with him was on it. She couldn't help but wonder just how many of those large steel boxes being loaded on with the Stark logo had actually contained alcohol. Likely more than the machinery brought to actually do work. After a moment of consideration, Natasha decided that she would partake of the bar that Tony had deemed necessary to bring with him. With how things were going, she felt she really needed a bit of alcohol in her system.

"What the hell? I could use a drink right now." She sighed and headed towards the door.

Natasha wiped away droplets of sweat from her forehead, wishing that she had stopped by the linen closet to get some towels but wasn't going to go through the trouble to get one. She'd cool off soon enough with the way the air conditioning was pumping in arctic feeling air. The spy noticed that her hair was falling loose from the tie she had thrown it in so she set to work redoing her ponytail while the two of them were on the way down the hall.

"So what do you think Loki's gonna use this time?" Steve wondered.

"Likely more people with that scepter."

"That's not what I mean. Last time, Loki was using the Tesseract to open up a portal so he could use the Chitauri to take over this world. Now that he's failed, I doubt that they will be willing to help him again. So that leaves the question of who he's going to use this time."

Natasha frowned at that. Steve made a very good point and if he would not use the Chitauri this time, who would he use? The spy shuddered to think of what other manner of creatures existed out in space and she wondered if the Avengers would actually be able to hold them back this time. Loki would have surely learned his lesson from the last attempt and has probably sought out an army specifically to combat their team.

"I don't know." She finally said, "There's a lot about space we have yet to learn including what all maybe lurking in it."

"I don't even want to think about what he's going to do. He killed a lot of people last time he was causing trouble."

"Let's just make it our personal goal to stop him before he can use the Tesseract again, hm?" Natasha proposed a bit lightly, her tone deceiving the weight of stress bearing down upon her mind.

Was Loki here even now? Watching her? The spy did not doubt that the God of Mischief could make himself invisible or perform other illusions so no one would see him. The thought that someone, let alone a dangerous enemy, was watching her sent chills down her spine. Natasha felt angry again. It was impossibly infuriating for her to feel so helpless. Loki could be watching her now, could be at all hours of the day and she had no way of knowing and no way to stop it. This also meant that he could kill her at anytime he wished. Of course, the spy remembered the dark-haired Asgardian promising that he would ensure that Barton killed her but what was to stop him from doing it himself? Even more disconcerting, what was there to stop him from wreaking havoc aboard the helicarrier?

"You know frowning like that will give you wrinkles, princess."

Natasha was jerked out of her thoughts when she heard Tony's cavalier voice. She had walked with Steve right into the room that Bruce and Stark were researching and looking into more scientists. The doctor was standing before a large computer console, where pictures of scientists young and old, male and female were whirring by, occasional ones growing larger as the computer set them aside as a possibility. The billionaire was behind his bar, pouring himself a drink of a dark brown liquor that Natasha did not recognize but she suspected it was a kind of spirit that she would be unable to purchase with anything less than two of her paychecks. His dark eyes drifted up from his drink to her face in assessment.

"You look like you could use a drink." He said bluntly.

"Putting it lightly." She replied, "Mind sharing a few?"

"Naturally! I've always been adept at getting beautiful women drunk."

Tony grinned roguishly at the red-headed woman who only rolled her eyes in return. From her side, she could hear Steve growl at the flirtatious manner Iron Man had adopted and bristled. The young spy cocked a brow at him in questioning. Was he jealous? They had only gone on one date, was he already considering things that serious?

"Don't you already have Pepper?" the Captain said tensely.

"Oh is the senior citizen getting jealous?"

"No."

Bruce interrupted, "Do you really think it's a good idea to give her drinks while we're supposed to be on our guard?"

Tony shrugged dismissively, "I like being a bad influence."

Soon the billionaire had fixed her a shot, making sure she didn't see what bottle he used and handed her the glass. When Natasha inquired what kind of liquor he was giving her, he merely smirked and told her to quit being so boring. Caving to his bad influence, she accepted the small glass and threw it back so it could sear a path down her throat. The heat that rose from liquid told her that the shot glass had contained some brand of whiskey. Natasha personally preferred tequila but this would do the trick just fine. Graciously, she accepted another and enjoyed the warmth pooling in her stomach.

"That a girl." He praised, "So what are you so stressed about that has you breaking your precious rule of no drinking on the job?"

The alcohol made her a bit more teasing than she normally would be and it brought a lilting smirk across her lips. Natasha leaned forward against the bar, her upper torso bent lightly over the counter and took the next shot that Tony had poured for her. Then she laughed a bit before answering.

"A woman never tells her secrets."

"Enough alcohol and any woman will tell all of her secrets." He replied with a smirk of his own, pouring yet another shot for Black Widow.

"Is that a challenge, Stark?"

"No, it's a fact."

Her eyes gleamed briefly as if to say 'challenge accepted' and smoothly downed another shot before slapping it back on the table. The alcohol had gone straight to her head now and it left her feeling fuzzy and her thoughts muddled. But she felt bolder and every one of her muscles that had been tense, relaxed. And she felt good. The world seemed that much nicer and the threat of attack was not looming at her back at every moment.

"Uh, N-natasha, you might want to stop now." Bruce advised.

She dismissed him by accepting the fourth shot Tony had made for her and she downed it just as quickly as the other three. Very quickly the potent liquid was coursing through her, leaving her even hazier than before. Tony and Steve were in some sort of debate but Natasha was unable to keep up with the exact wording. Whether it was because she was too drunk or just didn't care, she wasn't sure but she could tell that the two men were arguing about her drinking so much. Another shot glass was filled, this time by her hands, and she took her last one before straightening. Suddenly, she felt unbearably sleepy. As if someone had drugged her even though she knew that was not the case. Whenever Natasha took shots so quickly she would be plagued by a powerful drowsiness that usually forced her to curl up and sleep.

Sleep.

Such a nice word. Especially since she had had so little of it lately. The nightmares and the stress made her avoid unconscious filled nights, leaving her exhausted in the morning. Somehow, the threat of Loki didn't seem so great anymore. It was amazing how alcohol could minimize even the most severe of problems. Natasha rose a bit unsteadily from her chair.

"I'm going back to my room." She said.

"That's probably a good idea." Banner said, fidgeting with a pen with both of his hands.

"Aw, don't be a spoilsport. Come on, Sneak Attack. I haven't found out all of your dirty secrets yet."

"Sneak Attack?" Steve blinked.

"Yeah. Did you forget she's an assassin, retirement home reject?" Tony said.

Natasha rolled her eyes, "Be nice, Stark. And I am leaving so you WON'T find out all of my dirty secrets. And because I'm sleepy."

"Does our little assassin have a bed time now?" teased the billionaire.

"She does whenever she's tired." Natasha shot back with a smirk, "I'll see you guys later. And try to behave, Stark."

"Now why would I do that?"

The red-head smiled at Tony's reaction and left the room and headed down the hall. With every step the whiskey seemed to sink deeper into her bones and muscles, her brain putting together fuzzy thoughts but not a one of them were of Loki or the paranoid fear that he would attack at any moment. Infact most of her thoughts were frivolous ones that had nothing to do with SHIELD. It had been a long time since she had not thought of her job and it was a pleasant experience. Every night her mind had been filled with the assignments to come, a previous assassination mission and thoughts on when her enemies would come after her. Now, the whiskey had left her unburdened with the worries that came with being a spy. She was now just a woman that had left the stresses of life behind.

When Black Widow walked into her room, everything was blissfully quiet and never had a bed looked so comfortable as hers did at that moment. The spy walked over to the mattress a bit unsteadily and sank into the supple padding, upper torso still upright. It felt as if her entire body had turned to jelly, contained only by the coating of her skin. She wanted to melt into the mattress and slip into oblivion and she felt her limber frame relaxing even more. The years of always having to look over her shoulder had really worked its way into her muscles and she felt herself relax even more into the mattress. Natasha had always known that she was always tense but it was surprising just how much. The spy let herself fall so her back was now sinking into the soft material of the bed, eyes blissfully closed to chase down the elusive creature of sleep.

"You really are trying to make this easy for me." Purred a familiar velvety voice.

Natasha felt proud of herself. She was intoxicated and the first thing she did was lash her clenched fist out in the direction of the intruder's voice. Suddenly a pair of hands seized her wrists and pinned them down on either side of her head. The woman cast her bright green eyes to be met with a darker pair hovering over her face, the familiar frame of the God of Mischief standing above her shoulders by the bed. A grin crawled its way across his face, pleased that he had won in their struggle. However, the spy was stubborn and not quite ready to surrender especially since the alcohol coursing in her system had made her bolder. The muscles in her stomach constricted and she brought her legs swinging upward, hoping to wrap them around Loki's neck. Her attempt failed as the alcohol made her clumsy and sluggish and the dark-haired god anticipated her plan and stepped back so she flipped herself over. There was a brief moment where she struggled to find her feet on the ground but recovered fairly quickly, her back now to the intruder.

The room seemed to sway for a moment before the bed rushed up to meet her. Natasha was uncertain how he did it but Loki had managed to secure both of her wrists in his impossibly strong grasp and held them firmly behind her back. Also across the back of her shoulders, forcing her front to the mattress was clearly the scepter clutched in Loki's grasp. She struggled against him but could not get free from his grasp and stilled to rethink her plan of action. Unfortunately, the alcohol had inhibited her brain function and she could not think of a way to free herself and could not think of an intelligent thing to say.

"Drinking on the job, Miss Romanoff?" Loki said against her ear, "Barton would not approve."

"Shut up." She growled.

"Your cleverness and quick wit are so overwhelming. Tell me, am I the reason you have consumed enough alcohol to hinder your movements and reactions?"

A clever response to that question evaded the grasp of her mind so that left her with nothing to say but the truth. Faintly she could feel a finger toying with her hair as she struggled with her answer. This made her lip curl in response and tense beneath him.

"Unfortunately." She ground out.

"I'm flattered. Can you not get me out of your thoughts, Agent Romanoff? Are you constantly looking over your shoulder? Worried that I'll be there?"

"Get off me!" she growled.

Loki laughed and pressed harder against her shoulders with the scepter, forcing her torso further into the mattress. Natasha had then decided that she was tired of being pinned and found her footing and tried use the strength in her legs to push herself upright against his weight. Triumph pulsed through her as she managed to bring herself back to her feet. This new change of position put the red-head at a disadvantage because Loki brought the curved blade of his scepter to her throat, forcing her to still lest an artery be sliced open. He placed more pressure beneath her chin, forcing her head back until it was resting upon his shoulder and he could look her in the face. Vividly bright eyes shot a stubborn glare at the man responsible for her capture but she said nothing.

"Very easy…" He said, "Perhaps you should think twice before you consume alcohol."

"I'll keep that in mind for next time."

"Well, you see Miss Romanoff; there won't be a next time."

"What?" she asked, not quite understanding his meaning.

"I have a use for you now and I've come to utilize an opportunity." Loki murmured against her ear, "At first I planned for Barton to kill you but I've had a change of heart. "

Suddenly, Natasha knew where this was going and she struggled against his hold but he remained unmovable. The hand holding her wrists captive maintained its iron grip and no amount of thrashing or squirming loosened its hold. Cold lips remained at her ear and the spy could feel him laughing cruelly against her skin. Still chuckling, he pulled her closer so her frame was pressed more firmly against his own.

"How will you handle destroying your own friend, I wonder?"

The blade drifted away from her throat to hover, menacingly, above her chest. It was then that Natasha struck, hooking her foot behind his knee and yanking so his leg gave out from beneath him. The hand that had been gripping her wrists released its hold in search of some other object to grab onto to maintain stability. The scepter that had been hovering over her chest moved to the side as Loki continued his instinctive search to find something to hold himself upright. Natasha did not linger to watch if he maintained balance or not. Instead, she dashed for the door, tripping over her own feet due to the alcohol induced clumsiness. She had to get out and alert the others.

The door seemed traitorously far away even though she stayed in a small room. It should have been a relatively easy task to reach her gateway to escape but it suddenly became impossible when she tripped and fell over her suitcase that she had left in the middle of the floor. The smooth tile rushed up to meet her until she harshly collided with its surface, momentarily stunning her. Under normal circumstances a moment would be of little consequence, but being chased by the God of Mischief was hardly the standard for anything normal. Before Natasha had time to recover, she was forcefully flipped over and Loki was looming over her, now straddling her waist and wrists pinned with one hand once again above her head. Grasped in his right hand was the scepter, the steel gleaming dangerously in the fluorescent lighting. Her heart pounded as it drew closer to her, its wielder possessing a smile with no hint of sanity to be found.

Natasha had not screamed for help or in desperation in years. It was something of a source of pride to maintain that record especially since she rarely needed help. The red-head had always been skilled at her job and made each of her decisions and moves with careful precision. It was here that Black Widow decided that pride needed to be thrown away and she would for the first time in years scream for help. Pink, full lips parted and sucked in a tremendous amount of air so she could let out the loudest scream her vocal chords and lungs could manage. A delighted grin split across Loki's face when he realized her plan, his dark forest eyes gleaming with mirth. He lowered his dark head and crushed his mouth to hers, sealing away the scream that was threatening to erupt and attract attention to them. Natasha had time to a muffled grunt into Loki's mouth, the scepter humming ominously in her ears.

Then the point of the blade touched her chest.

**A/N: Hello. Sorry for taking so long. There were a few places where I got stuck and wasn't quite sure how to carry on. It was so frustrating because I knew where I wanted to go but not how to get there. _ Anyways, please R/R. Reviews fuel my fire for writing. :3**


	7. Red Ledger

Chapter 7 Red Ledger

It was the strangest feeling. The world seemed to hum in her ears while warmth spread slowly from her heart to the rest of her form, changing her as it went. Her eyes clouded over with a hazy blue as if she were viewing everything through a veil of morning dew. The disquiet that had been burning in her mind all of her life was suddenly stilled and never had she felt more peaceful in her life. No, not peaceful, **empty**. There seemed to be nothing left of emotion within her. Natasha had emotions like any normal human being but as a spy she was excellent at reining them in or hiding them when the occasion called for it. Regardless, they had always been present in her life and it was odd that they were no longer there.

Natasha was still herself and yet she wasn't. There was none of her defining personality left except for in an echo like a distant memory one can't quite recall. A strong desire to do what was asked had replaced her normally turbulent thoughts and she drifted her eyes upward and they fell upon Loki's face. His lips were spread as he smirked triumphantly down at her, his hands still gripping her wrists. Then he released her and slowly drifted his fingers down to the side of her face.

"Come Miss Romanoff, you have work to do."

Loki got off of her and she mechanically rose to her feet.

"What do you need me to do?"

Everything passed like a dream after those words. Or more specifically a nightmare. His were orders to destroy the Phase 2 Weapons which were near completion, to sabotage Tony's suit and then to pay a visit to Barton. The first two tasks were relatively easy to accomplish considering her clearance with SHIELD. No one asked questions of her and there was no one who saw her who could recognize the signs of Loki's control. When she had only to visit her friend, she set down the halls with a purpose, her legs carrying her at a brisk pace in search for Hawkeye.

The world around her seemed to be hazed in a fog but yet at the same time there was a stark clarity that she had never viewed the world in before. This was because the old her was still trapped in her mind, the voice long off in the distance, fighting against the hold that Loki had on her but was losing. There was also the new personality that had taken over in place that was viewing the halls of the Helicarrier with clinical detachment. It was a frustrating thing, to lose control of your own body to a side of yourself that was changed. How do you win back your mind from yourself? You can't. Not on your own. And that small quiet part of the real Natasha fought and screamed against the hold that the scepter held over her but could not break free.

It would only be a matter of time before she found Barton and how would that encounter go? Would she kill him before he even noticed that there was anything wrong? Or would he manage to defeat her? All of these questions floated at the back of her mind, all wrapped in a shroud of cotton to muffle the voices they spoke to her with. Faintly, beneath her skin, she could feel the buzzing of anger that her newly controlled mind refused to let her grasp.

The more that small part of her fought, the harder it became. Sometimes she could hear Loki's laugh echoing through her brain and thoughts, taunting her and her predicament. But anger would not stay long in her. No emotion would. It would faintly prick her conscious and then slip away through her fingers as she tried to grasp it. Even as she prowled the halls, hunting down her best friend, Natasha could get no hold on any emotion, they were quiet and fleeting sometime leaving so quickly she never even got the chance to identify them.

"Natasha?"

The spy bristled slightly but did not turn to face Captain America to keep him from seeing her murky blue eyes. Her mind thought before she realized she could make this work in her favor and then cleared her throat to try to bring some of her character back into it.

"Captain. Have you seen Barton?"

"No. Natasha I thought you said you were going to bed."

"I was." She said easily, "But decided to walk around some."

"Is everything ok? You sound different."

"I'm fine." Natasha said shortly.

A hand suddenly seized her shoulder, jerking her to turn around. The spy reacted, swiftly driving her fist into Steve's solar plexus. The blonde soldier arched forward from the blow slightly. Natasha had planned to try and slip away then before he saw her eyes but that didn't get to happen. The Captain yanked his blonde head upwards and locked onto her face.

The red-head struck out again, aiming to incapacitate him before he alerted anyone but this time, Steve was ready. He dropped into a roll and moved out of her way, touching his finger to the ear piece and pressing on the button to allow him to speak.

"Fury! Loki's got Natasha under his control!"

A powerful kick lashed across Steve's jaw, sending him off balance and spinning. His skilled feet moved then, recovering his stance and turned him to face his opponent. Black Widow was already moving again, her muscles firing her body forward in quick movements that the soldier had some difficulty following. A thick forearm rose to block a vicious hook from the lithe woman, before knocking it to the side and attempting to deliver a powerful attack. Sleek muscles contracted to propel her frame out of the path of the Captain's devastating punch.

"Come one, Natasha! You gotta snap out of it!" He shouted, grabbing her fist as she moved to hit him.

The red-head twisted around and used her back as a leverage to flip Steve over her. The blonde man thumped onto the floor, his breath rushing out of his lungs after the impact before he rolled quickly to the side, narrowly missing Black Widow's axe kick that had been aimed at his head. He knocked her feet out from under her, bringing the slender spy rushing to the ground. Her right hand planted itself firmly upon the linoleum floor and flipped herself over, already on her feet while Captain America was still rushing to get to his.

Deceptively delicate hands stole away into her pocket to produce a medium sized knife and rushed forward to plunge the blade into his heart. The weapon never reached its mark, not because Steve defended himself in time but because Clint appeared in time and had seized her wrist. Natasha to run around in an arc, leap into the air and wrap her legs about her friends neck and flipped him. The right side of her body landed roughly on the floor, promising of a bruise that would form there later. Rolling away from Hawkeye, the young woman rushed to her feet only to feel Steve slam a powerful fist into the side of her ribs. Hazy eyes exploded open in pain and a cry pried its way past her lips. The force of the blow sent her flying into the nearby wall, where she slumped momentarily against the barrier, pain blossoming across her side.

"Please, Natasha, stop. I don't want to have to hurt you." Steve begged.

His pleading words fell upon deaf ears for Natasha was already on her feet again, knife clutched firmly in her grasp. When she drew close to the older soldier, she slashed at him, the blade of her weapon drawing dangerously close to his throat but missing as he leaned backwards. Behind her, Black Widow could hear Hawkeye moving so she whirled to react to his attack. A fist collided with the side of her face and suddenly the red-head found herself on the floor once more. The world before her eyes rocked back and forth, pain spreading through her cheek bone as the skin of her face rested upon the cool linoleum. She rolled sideways to avoid being pinned by Clint. Misty blue eyes locked onto her friend still hovering over the spot that she had been lying and lashed her leg out once more. The assassin dodged her attack and moved in quickly to her.

She rolled once more and recovered her feet before Clint could render her immobile or inflict more damage upon her person. Steve may be more sympathetic towards her health but Clint would not be when it came to Loki's possession. Instead, he would be focused upon "cognitive recalibration" like she had performed on him, however inadvertent it may have been. Natasha avoided another punch that had been intended for her head and delivered a blow of her own to Clint's face. Her influenced mind began to think about how she was going to kill Barton like Loki desired but could find no answer and continued to viciously attack her friend.

Suddenly she was seized from behind and Hawkeye delivered another powerful blow to the side of her face. He gaze was suddenly turned drastically to the right because of the blow and her mind reeled to catch up with her as the side of her face throbbed painfully. Natasha brought her legs behind her, attempting to injure Steve with a devastating series of blows but failing at every one of them. Still just as trapped, the young woman brought her kicks forward to Clint, who was getting to close again, preventing him from injuring her once more. The blow was enough to stagger him but not enough to repel him for he came straight back to her and another punch slammed into her jaw.

The world rocked once more, her vision tunneling because of the blow to her face. Natasha blinked to clear the blurriness and the slow motion that had filled her sight but had no luck. She struggled weakly against Steve's hold but with the stun she had been delivered, her strength was significantly decreased. Barton brought his fist back and that was the last thing she saw before his punch collided with her face once more, sending her spiraling into unconsciousness.

When Natasha awoke, her eyes were still hazy, clouding her judgment and who she really is. Behind a thick curtain, her real self still lurked, fighting to get free. It felt like someone was clawing through her head, fingernails raking against the inside of her skull. She squinted her eyes shut against the pain and discomfort.

'I'm trying to escape.' She thought dazedly through the pain, 'I'm trying to tear out of my head.'

Her right hand tried to drift to her forehead but Natasha found that her wrists were strapped down to a chair. The very same chair that Hawkeye had been bound to after she had performed her "cognitive recalibration". She tensed her body, fighting against the fingers still groping around her skull, hoping to drive off the invading force. Nothing seemed to work and she soon found herself shaking her head viciously to fight against the hold still trying to cling to her brain.

"Come on Tasha." Said a familiar encouraging voice, "Fight it. I know you can do it."

"Clint?" she asked helplessly.

Her vision was clearing but suddenly if felt as if the air she was breathing was fumes of acid burning and tearing at her lungs. It also felt as if she couldn't gulp down enough air to sustain her body, her limbs trembling weakly. Now she understood why Clint had wanted a window open. It felt like every necessary breath was destroying her lungs in the most painful manner.

"You gotta fight it, Tasha."

Her eyes locked onto him and she stared until at last the haze had cleared away and her mind was her own again. Natasha slumped in the chair from relief. When she had caught her breath she looked back to her friend again.

"Thank you Clint."

"No problem. Can't say I liked hitting you though."

Natasha grinned wryly at his words and watched as he began to undo the bindings on her wrists.

"The feeling is mutual. Guess we're even now on that, huh?"

"I guess so." He laughed.

Black Widow rose from the chair and walked to the bathroom. A pale, shadow of herself gazed back at her from the mirror and she found herself shocked. Only a day had she been under Loki's control and it already looked like she had withered. The spy splashed water over her face and rubbed it across the back of her neck. Sometimes she would cup her hands together and drink deeply of it, feeling the cool liquid quell the fire that had ignited itself in her chest.

When she looked back at her reflection, the fire inside of her had been extinguished but in her eyes it had not. Emerald pyres reflected back at her, a strong set to her jaw to display her resolve. Natasha was herself again and she was not going to be conquered as easily next time. Her lips quirked back at her in a smirk. Black Widow owed a debt to Loki now. And she would be a poor woman if she didn't repay it. Getting revenge on Loki would be the start to wiping out the red that smeared her past.

**A/N: This one is a little shorter than I had planned but I wanted to kick out a complete chapter for you guys to read. Because if I stretched it longer, I would reach a tough spot and you guys would be stuck at a cliff hanger for a while. I know what I want next but I still have to create it. Anyways, R&R. **


	8. Sheep's Clothing

Chapter 8 Sheep's Clothing

The entire team was on edge now. Tony had to be flown back to New York to repair his suit. Natasha had done an excellent job in sabotaging it and it was no longer in a state to fly. Now they were still aboard the helicarrier, the ocean looming beneath them. Everyone was now tense and under a high amount of stress. Loki entering the ship and using Natasha against them had set everyone on edge and showed them that they were not as safe as they believed. Steve was almost always on the observation deck, his blue eyes cast towards the heavens, lost in thought. Clint, would be in the rafters of the highest room, watching all who walked below with his sharp eyes. They still had yet to hear from Thor so who knows what he was doing. And Natasha was constantly in the training room, pounding away at the dummy without a gauze wrapping. She had been going at it so viciously that her knuckles were skinned and raw, a thin trickle of blood rolling down her fingers.

Everyone was on edge but Natasha was tenser than everyone else. She felt more vulnerable than the others and there was something disturbing that crossed her mind that she had yet to say to the team. If Loki attacked the ship now, then there would be nothing they could do because Tony wasn't around to fix the engines. And Natasha expected that he would try to pluck the ship from the sky once again. She tossed her hair out of her eyes and walked out of the training room, and headed straight to the bathroom. Once inside, she began to rinse her hands of the blood and proceeded to wrap them in gauze. She was sure that Clint or Steve was going to chastise her for training without protection later but she there were more pressing things on her mind.

Natasha was going through an emotional whirlwind. She was so angry at what happened. Angry at Loki for taking over her mind and angry at herself for being unable to prevent it. There was also an undertone of guilt highlighting all of her emotions. She knew that it wasn't her fault that her actions had been caused by Loki but they had all been executed by her hand. Because it had all been done by her, she felt a strong sense of responsibility for her actions. But overall, she felt even more helpless than before. When she realized that Loki had been visiting her and causing her nightmares, Natasha felt like there was nothing that she could do to protect herself. However these feelings had since swelled because of the mind control the God had exhibited over her. It was even more disconcerting to her that she had essentially became a slave to herself and there was nothing she could have done about it.

She strode down the halls, her stinging knuckles now clad in gauze, and her eyes were still intense. Natasha wanted to make Loki pay for taking over her mind and using her to attack her friends. For turning her against her side. But what infuriated her the most was Loki demanding that she try to kill Barton. What would have happened if she hadn't run into Steve? Would she still have been defeated by Clint? Or would her blade have found its way into his throat? Thinking that she could have killed her dear friend made her sick to her stomach.

'God I need a drink again.' Natasha thought.

Of course, she was not going to follow up on that because that was part of the reason she ended up becoming controlled in the first place. She sighed and tousled her flaming hair before arriving in her room. Natasha spent a few hours meditating, trying to clear her mind but whenever the storm of her thoughts started to calm, she could hear Loki's laughter echo through her head. What was so frustrating about it was that she wasn't sure if he was in her room, meddling in her thoughts or if it was a product of her own mind.

"_You can't shut me out, Miss Romanoff."_

She squinted her eyes tight, attempting to will away his haunting voice.

"_But I do so like it when you try to fight me."_

A frown unfurled on her lips at his demeaning tone. It was condescending but at the same time indulging. Like a parent speaking to a child for trying something silly. Perhaps it was silly of her to fight against him, especially if he was meddling with her mind.

"_Does that make you angry, Miss Romanoff? Furious that you can do nothing against me?"_

"Show yourself and I will do something." Natasha snarled quietly.

Laughter filled her head.

"_Like you did during my last visit?"_

The Russian seethed, her teeth grinding together when she was reminded of when he took control of her.

"_Don't flatter yourself. I don't need the scepter to defeat you, Miss Romanoff. I am a god and there is nothing a lowly mortal like yourself can do against me."_

The truth stung her pride viciously like acid on a wound, reminding her of her weakness against him.

"_It's a shame you never got to carry out my orders on Barton. I was looking forward to watching you kill him."_

"Get out of my head!" she shouted shattering a vase against the wall.

He laughed again, his voice rubbing like silk against her skull. Natasha growled at him, not at all happy that her anger was amusing to him. Then she lashed out behind her when she felt something ghost against her back. Black Widow watched, wide-eyed, as her wrist was seized in mid air but no hand or body could be seen. She was yanked backwards, an arm slipping around her waist, trapping her other arm down by an invisible arm. Hot breath danced across her ear as Loki continued to chuckle against her, his chest reverberating against her back.

"For now." He said, Natasha feeling his lips come to the skin of her neck, "I have other plans at the moment. Yesterday didn't work out as planned but today will."

Then he was gone, no mocking laugh, no condescending tone and no invisible restraining force. Natasha stood in her room, green eyes widened slightly as her mind struggled to catch up with what had happened. She didn't recover on her own because suddenly her ear piece was exploding with Fury's voice.

"Romanoff! You copy?"

The ship jolted sharply suddenly, rocking dangerously before stabilizing again. She looked up at the ceiling, as if it would hold the answer why the helicarrier had rocked before finally answering Fury.

"Yeah, I copy. What's going on?"

"We have our own men on the attack. Loki has corrupted a good chunk of our task force. We're working on the ones trying to shut down the engines at the bridge. Go on a run around the ship, take down any controlled agents."

"Roger." She told him.

Natasha quickly stripped down and yanked on her suit in record time, yanking the Widow's Bite bracelets on her wrists and slapping the belt across her hips. Then she was rushing through the halls, knocking out agents and other Shield staff members, leaving a trail of unconscious forms in her wake. Things had been going as well as it could for having to take down members of your own side. However, Natasha was stunned at her next finding.

"Agent Hill." She murmured, schooling her face to show no shock.

Maria said nothing, only yanked up her hand gun and fired at the red-head but missed since Natasha was already moving. The spy dropped into a roll, bringing herself closer to her new opponent, bullets following her trail. She used the momentum of her dodge roll to get back to her feet and seized Maria's wrist with her right hand, yanking her forward. Fury's right hand woman darted her left hand to the second gun holster and took aim at Natasha's head. The red-head dropped to a crouch and lunged forward, burying her shoulder into her stomach and used the momentum to roll the controlled woman over her back, flipping her onto the floor.

A grunt escaped Agent Hill when she landed on her back, a rush of air escaping her. Natasha advanced to deliver the knockout punch only for her opponent to roll out of reach. The brunette brought up her guns again, aiming at the spy and pulled the trigger. Natasha was on the move again, running, lunging and rolling to stay out of the path of the bullets. When she got close enough, she twisted her guns out of her grasp, forcing Agent Hill to drop her weapons to the ground. The agent took a blind swing at Black Widow but to no avail for the attack was dodged and an even harder punch was returned from the Russian. The brunette spun from the blow, stumbling backwards once she stopped spinning. Natasha never gave her the chance to recover for she delivered another powerful punch to Maria's face and left her unconscious on the floor.

After going through so many people who worked with Shield, Natasha was nervous about who she was going to run into again. She ran down the halls, taking down the occasional agent, but finding no other serious threat. Still, she was worried about who else Loki may have taken control of. It also kept her on edge because the last time their ship came under attack, Agent Coulson died. Was someone going to die this time?

"Romanoff!"

"Yes director?"

"Go check on the Captain at engine 3! He hasn't been answering his communicator and he might be down."

"On it."

The feed between the two was cut but not before Natasha caught the sounds of fighting and commotion in the background on the bridge. She was no longer jogging but out right running, sprinting to get to the designated location. There were three possibilities. The most optimistic was that Steve's communicator wasn't working. The second option was that he was really down or injured. And the third was that he may be controlled by Loki as well. Natasha prayed that it was the first choice and not any of the last two.

"Steve!" she called when she finally reached the location.

There was no answer and no one around. Black widow found herself winding through the confusing turns of the engine sector and could find nothing. Then an idea struck her and she ran even faster, sprinting headlong towards the engine room. When she threw open the door, Steve was standing there, a bomb attached to one of the pipe lines. Her eyes widened. If that went off now it would tear open the side of the wall and destroy the engine. That meant that they would fall out of the sky. Captain lunged forward, his bulky body surprisingly quick and shot a powerful punch towards Natasha's ribs.

The world spun around her as she twisted out of the way of his blow and lashed her foot across his jaw. Steve staggered but then was once more charging forward, delivering devastating blows towards Natasha's slender and deceptively fragile frame. The young woman kept dodging, leaping backwards to try and lure the Captain out of the room. When she was certain that he would follow her if she fled, she turned on her heel and sprinted away, leading him on a chase away from the danger area so they both wouldn't be killed if that explosion went off.

"FURY! Get that other engine up and running!" She shouted, pressing the button on her earpiece, "Captain's under Loki's control and he's going to blow engine-"

A loud explosion tore through the air, cutting off Natasha from her sentence and rocked the helicarrier. The ship groaned from the effort as the remaining two engines struggled to try and keep the craft in the air but failed. Natasha began to slide across the floor as the ship tilted in its decent back to the earth. Unfortunately for Black Widow, she went sliding straight into Steve, who used the opportunity to straddle her, his large hands fastening around her throat. Her head was tilted backwards as his grip forced her chin upwards, green eyes facing the ceiling. Natasha only had a second to make a decision. Steve would use his strength to outright crush her throat and she simply had to get him to let her go before he did that. Jaw set, the spy made up her mind.

'Sorry Captain.' She thought grimly.

Natasha fired her Widow's Bite, electric volts shooting from her two bracelets and went straight into Steve's body. He convulsed on top of her, the currents tearing their way through his body until he came to a rest, his frame lightly trembling from the attack. She rolled him off of her and rose as best she could with the still descending ship, still sliding down the hall. Wind howled through the passage ways and her green eyes locked onto the reason it wailed so loudly. At the end of the corridor, the sky had replaced other walls, twisted frames of metal reaching out to grasp the open and cloudy blue. Natasha dove to try and catch Steve. Her hands latched onto his arm but now they both were sliding to the drop off. With tremendous effort, the spy used their momentum to swing Captain America into another hallway perpendicular to the one they were on now. That should at least keep him from the edge until he regained himself.

Everything was whirring by faster than before, her own frame still sliding rapidly towards the drop that would surely lead to her death. Natasha tried desperately to grab a hold of something, anything, to stop her approach to the deadly plunge mere feet away. Her heart pounded and she gasped for air as adrenaline took a firm hold of her body as she continued to draw nearer to the edge and fought even harder for something to hold her up. The suction cups on her feet and fingers could not get a hold for she had built up too much momentum and speed for them to hope to help her now. Natasha knew she was going to die. So Black Widow took a deep breath, shut her eyes as tight as she possibly could and then she was thrown into the sky.

**A/N: I know, another cliff hanger. Don't kill me! An issue to address, one of my reviewers seemed concerned about romance coming into this. Have no fear! It will come! I know it's slow moving but I want to try and keep this a bit more realistic as far as emotions go. Anyway, it shouldn't take too long to update since I have an idea of what I'm going to do next but I make no promises. I also thank everyone who has reviewed! I received a lot more reviews on this than I had hoped and it makes me happy! Fingers crossed for 100 reviews! Hope you all enjoyed!**


	9. Always

**A/N: I'm so so so so so so so so sorry! It has been pandemonium at the house! I will definitely try to do much better next time! I'm so sorry. **

Chapter 9 Always….

It was the strangest thing. Natasha had not spent much time reflecting on what it would feel like being thrown from an air craft but this was not at all like she had expected. The young woman had expected it to feel like her stomach had left her body, as it feels whenever you fall from any height. Instead, it was like she was floating on a cloud of air, suspended in the sky, laying upon a fluffy white cloud not falling to her death. The sun was shining brightly, washing over everything, bathing all of the clouds and creatures in a golden glow. Things looked strangely pleasant to Natasha considering that she was going to die.

She was thankful that her back was facing the ground otherwise fear would be gripping her tightly. As it were, Natasha felt quite relaxed even as she plunged towards the unforgiving ground and water far below her. She felt calm, unafraid of the end. Black Widow had spent her entire life looking over her shoulder and in her last moments, she planned to look nowhere but straight before her without fear. Death would bring rest, would bring the peace she could never have while she was alive. Once she had her fill of the bright and cheerful sky above her, the helicarrier taking its own descent, Natasha closed her eyes and took in a deep breath of air.

Natasha didn't know how long she was falling but it felt like forever until finally she collided with something. The impact jarred her body, sending the shock vibrating through her bones. When she recovered from the shock, she realized that she had not landed but someone had caught her falling from the sky. She could distinctly feel arms under her knees and behind her shoulders as the air continued to rush around them.

'Thor?' she thought dazedly.

The red-head opened her eyes again only to find that it was not Thor who had caught her. Instead, she was looking into the smirking and cocky face of a certain dark-haired Asgardian. However, it took a minute or two for it to register in her mind that Loki had actually just saved her life. When at last her thoughts caught up with her she snarled.

"Let go of me."

"I don't think you want to me to do that just yet. In case you forgot, you were falling to your death."

Natasha seethed, "Why did you save me?"

He flashed a grin at her, "Oh don't tell me you had wanted to die there, Miss Romanoff?"

"It would beat having to put up with you."

"Oooooh, that hurts." He mocked, his smirk still in place, "Tell me, are you always this charming?"

"Only to you." Natasha shot back.

Loki laughed, "I must make a mental note that this hostility is only a sign of your affection."

"If it helps you sleep at night then, sure, make your mental note. "she paused, "You're awfully cheerful today."

A triumphant grin made its way across his face and he looked upward towards the falling ship.

"I have succeeded where I failed last time. I needed to get Stark out of the way to ensure that the ship would fall. Thank you for that by the way. You performed splendidly in your sabotage."

His words struck her hard as she realized that she helped make this happen. Anger simmered in her along with shame and she scrambled to find something that Loki did not succeed in.

"You didn't succeed with Barton. I was intercepted before I could kill him."

"An unfortunate event but not important. Barton is hardly that noteworthy in my plans. If you had succeeded than it would have been a bonus for me."

"I am not your plaything!" She snarled, "You can't just use me that way!"

"Oh but Miss Romanoff, you are. All of humanity is. I will be your ruler and I will decide who lives and who dies." He brought his face close to hers, "You see, I can use all of you in whatever way I wish."

They landed on the ground then, albeit roughly and Natasha felt her entire body jerk from the force of the sudden stop. Loki put her down on her feet quickly because he knew that she would lash out at him. Black Widow turned to face him, her hands clenched into fists as she moved towards him to attack. It was hard to move as she normally could because they had landed right on the beach, the sand unstable beneath her feet. Because of this her attacks failed. She was forced to stop when the tip of the scepter rested on her breast bone, inactive.

"Don't make me use this." He told her lowly.

She thought critically for a moment on whether she wanted to risk it or not. In the end, Natasha decided that it wasn't and slowly dropped her stance to show Loki that she was standing down. He smiled in approval and nodded softly.

"Very good. Now give me your weapons."

Natasha stared at him. Surely he was joking? The spy had never willingly surrendered her weapons especially to a known enemy. She already knew that she stood no chance against him even with weapons, having a lack thereof would make her feel more vulnerable. And Natasha hated feeling vulnerable. But the look in his eyes told her that he was not going to negotiate this matter.

"There are two ways we can do this, Agent Romanoff. You can cooperate and give me your weapons without a fuss. Or you can continue to be belligerent in which case I would be forced to use the scepter on you and you will remain permanently under my influence."

Natasha glared but did as he demanded, pulling out every weapon on her person. More specifically every blade on her person. She deliberately kept on the belt of explosive disks and her bracelets containing the Widow's Bite, Line and Kiss. If she could get away with it, she could just say they were just a part of the suit. Natasha handed over the blades.

"Very good now the rest of it." He told her.

"That is all of it."

"Don't insult my intelligence. I know about that belt and those bracelets. Hand them over."

She scowled then, unhappy that her plan had been foiled but was given no choice. Natasha slowly unhooked her belt and carefully pulled the bracelets off and handed them grudgingly to Loki. Visibly she grimaced when they landed neatly in his hand along with her blades. Dark forest eyes flicked back to her face and he smirked.

"Good girl."

Then he hurled her things into the ocean. Natasha watched with wide eyes as they fell into the water and sank out of sight to be lost to the deep. She hadn't expected him to throw her weapons into the ocean but in hindsight she should have. Still it was hard to see some of her defenses completely lost to her especially the knife from her boot that Clint had given to her a year ago as a gift. Regardless of the emotions she was feeling, she kept her face schooled and straight.

"Well, shall we go, Miss Romanoff?"

Natasha paled, "Go?"

Behind her an enormous crash tore through the air, causing the spy to whip around to locate the cause of the noise. Before her was a crater of water, walls of ocean rising up before gushing towards the shore line. The surface of the sea was peppered with white foam, floating in the turbulent waves. For a few moments, Natasha could not see the Helicarrier but then it rose from the ocean, floating upon the surface as per its design. Her heart lightened then at the hope that everyone was going to survive.

"Yes." Loki said, "Now I can't have you helping your team mates bounce back from this defeat now can I? And I intend to keep your precious Avengers as scattered as possible."

She felt his chest close to her back and his breath brushing past her ear, "Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way."

What he didn't say was that Loki did so wish for her to take the hard way. He did love it when she fought against the inevitable. The god and the spy waited for a few tense minutes for her response before she sent her hands back to seize Loki and flip him over her. He anticipated this move and merely stepped quickly out of her reach, forcing Natasha to grab at air. Quickly realizing that Loki was no longer in her reach, she twisted around to face him. He smirked, his eyes gleaming wickedly.

"Hard way it is, then."

The dark-haired man rushed forward, his scepter swinging horizontally at Natasha. The spy in question dropped low into a crouch, the weapon rushing past her head above her and then powered herself forward. Black Widow decided that it would be best for her if she could get Loki to drop that scepter. She didn't want any chance of him taking control of her so she seized his wrist, bringing about a shocked look on his face and then bent her arm at the elbow, turning her fist to the sky. Natasha, using her left hand which was wrapped around his wrist, pushed outward with as much force as she could muster and her right hand, which was bent and ready at his elbow, yanked towards her. The point of this move was to break the elbow joint by forcing it to bend in the opposite direction of what it's supposed to be. What she failed to consider was that this was a move that would certainly work on other people but on Loki, a God, it would be insufficient.

"Nice try." He said before hitting her in the stomach with his other hand, sending her flying back.

Natasha had been hit before, being a spy and working for Shield is surely a guaranteed way to get physical harm delivered upon your person. However, never had she been hit this hard before. Her stomach felt like it was on fire, her muscles all locked up from the trauma she had just been delivered. As she curled up in the sand, Natasha realized just how much Loki had been holding back on her whenever they had fought. As the young woman forced herself to get to her feet, she felt fragile. Never had she felt so weak and now that she was facing down a God, who was taking off the kid gloves with her, she felt even more vulnerable than before. Loki's eyes gleamed when he recognized the feelings she was experiencing. Natasha had taken his strength for granted and now she was going to pay for it.

"You see, I have been generous with you until now. I have held back my true strength. That blow? Was not but a fraction of what I can do." He languidly began walked towards her, "Are you sure you wish to continue to challenge me, Miss Romanoff? It will not go well for you. And in the end, you will still be in my grasp."

Loki was delighted to see that Natasha charged forward again, struggling slightly to maintain her stance in the shifty sand. The other times he sparred with her, he was merely playing but now it was a bit more. He planned to show her, just how powerless she was and he still would not make a full effort. When she got close enough, Loki stood completely still and allowed Natasha's punch to collide with his stomach. The god did not budge, didn't even flinch from her powerful blow. In fact, Black Widow's punch hurt her more than it did him. In an instant, the Asgardian retaliated with a punch of his own, one that collided directly with her Solar Plexus. It felt as if her very core had been pulverized and she dropped to her knees, all the air suddenly forced out of her lungs. There were several seconds where Natasha couldn't breathe since her diaphragm had tensed up from the trauma it had just received. In that time, Loki delivered a harsh kick to her ribs, sending her over on her back.

Natasha had been hit more times than she could ever hope to count. She had been punched, kicked, interrogated, had bones broken, joints twisted, muscles torn but never had she experienced a single blow as painful as the one that Loki had delivered. Of course, she had experienced worse pain, but never so much from just one punch. The sun eclipsed as her enemy knelt over her, his piercing eyes gazing at her, an icy hand tracing the side of her cheek. In fact, had it been anyone other than Loki, Natasha would have even dared to say that the motion was affectionate. His fist sank again into her Solar Plexus and she was winded again before she got another chance to attack him.

"I have been indulgent with you, until now." Loki told her, his voice as smooth as silk, "But it is time for you to learn how powerless you really are. Just where your place truly is."

He drew close to her, his right hand smoothing the top of her head as he gazed into her very soul. Natasha soon found herself trapped, drowning in those dark forest eyes, struggling for every breath. The longer she stared, the deeper she descended, sucked from her own consciousness to fall into his very being. She was only vaguely aware of him resting his forehead against her own, his thumb gently sweeping her brow.

"You will always be beneath me."

His voice sounded so distant. Like an echo of a dream that always hovered on the edge of your mind but you are unable to recall. The lines defining his person blurred and soon she could no longer tell the difference between the touch of his hand and soft brushing of the wind. It all blurred to one, falling into his eyes as she was touched every where all at once. Natasha's eyes glazed over as she descended deeper into oblivion, lips parted with the only thing that kept her chained to reality. Her breathing. Her grip on the fringes of consciousness was slipping as the touches continued, whether from the wind or him, she was unsure. Darkness hooded her sight and she heard a far off echo, vaguely reminiscent of his voice.

"Always."

Natasha slipped from reality and deep into unconsciousness. There comes a time where you must let go of your grip, where you must give up the fight and fall. The woman chose it then and she descended into black right before one final thought.

So long as he continued to stare into her soul that way, maybe it wouldn't be so bad being beneath him.

"Always….."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Again, I'm sorry! Reviews are appreciated! :3**


	10. Throwing of the Gauntlet

Chapter 10 Throwing of the Gauntlet

When Natasha awoke she was not on the beach nor was she back in her room at Shield. Instead she was in a room that she didn't recognize, small and cramped. She was lying on a cot with a single wool blanket and an uncomfortably hard pillow. The ceiling was metal, as were all of the walls and the door was reinforced, made of rusty steel. Slowly, she sat up, surveying the prison she was now to stay in. Loki surely had brought her here. The chances that she had been saved before she was kidnapped were extremely slim to nonexistent. Natasha got off of the bed and immediately set to work on finding possible weapons and tools that could aid in her escape.

Her search produced an old, oil stained shirt and a long shard of metal that was pretty sturdy. Natasha decided that she could use the shard as a shank. The shirt could have a strip torn off of it and wrapped around the base to help with grip and prevent her from cutting herself upon it and contracting Tetanus. Natasha placed the items back where she found them and began to search for a place she could hide any weapons or tools she salvaged. After ten minutes of searching, the spy found a loose panel, she quickly rushed to the items she found and pulled them out, placing them behind the loose panel. Natasha desperately wished to attempt her escape immediately but knew that it would be rash to leap straight to it.

Black Widow began to lash out kick attacks at the wall to occupy herself. At the minimal, she would have to stay here for three to four days. If she was rash and tried to escape now, with no idea with the layout of the place, who all was here, the rotation of the guards, how they were armed or an idea where she is. Natasha would have to wait patiently, observe the patterns of the guards, if there were any at all, she would likely get an idea how the place is laid out since there is no toilet in this room. If Selvig and Foster were here, she would try to get them out but the priority was herself. She furrowed her brows. It had been a long time since she had been taken prisoner against her will and she didn't like it. Natasha had let herself be captured plenty of times to gather the information that was needed but it had been a very long time since she had been captured against her will. She decided that she did not like it. Then again, she was not fond of any experience or position that put her in a state of vulnerability.

The red-head sat down, wonder just exactly what Loki planned to do with her. Something about his explanation on the beach didn't sound right, didn't make sense. He had claimed that he didn't want her to help the Avengers bounce back from his strike against the helicarrier but that didn't quite fit. What could she have done? She had not the ability to fly or lift the ship into the sky again where it belongs and being perfectly frank, she felt that she was one of the more useless Avengers. Natasha could not compete with Loki in terms of strength, she was perhaps his match when it came to mind games but in physical combat, she stood no chance. In her personal opinion, she felt that her absence from the Avengers would have little to no impact on the team.

If Loki was trying merely to keep everyone divided, why would he take her? Or why didn't he just kill her? That seemed to be the more effective way and yet he did not strike a killing blow. If anything, her battle with him showed her he was trying to teach her a lesson. But what lesson exactly? Nothing made sense and Natasha decided that she was damn well going to get the answers to her questions. Loki liked to play mind games? Well, he's about to meet his match.

XXXXX

It was another four hours until Loki came to visit her and during that wait, Natasha had concluded that there was at least one guard outside of her door, likely armed. A rotation had been set at every two hours and the guard would occasionally check on her through this sliding panel through the door. The spy made a mental note how that could be used to lure the guard in when she attempted to escape. When the god finally entered the room, she was perched on the cot and flicked her eyes up to look at him, nonchalantly.

"How are you finding the accommodations, Miss Romanoff?"

"Charming. The rust is a particularly attractive feature."

Loki quirked an amused brow and his lips upturned slightly, "Indeed? I will have to remember that in the future."

"Oh don't make the effort." Natasha said lightly, "I know you won't be holding me long enough to need to remember that fact."

"I have no intention of killing you, regardless of whatever preconceptions you may have. If I had intended to kill you, I wouldn't have bothered capturing you to begin with."

She frowned then, "Well then why have you brought me here? I don't think I would be much of an aid in your movement to destroy the world."

"Ah, but you misunderstand my intentions. I mean to rule you all, not destroy you. It would be a difficult task to be a god over nothing. As much as you would like to paint me as one, I'm not a tyrant."

"What about in New York, when you unleashed the Chitauri? That was hardly an act of peace."

"Establishing one's new rule in a world that does not welcome it is never peaceful."

"You mean to tell me that had we been willing to stand down and accept you as a new ruler, you wouldn't have attacked anyone?" Natasha asked doubtfully.

"No. Whether you would submit to my will or not, a…display, an example of what could happen in the event of rebellion would have been necessary. Humans need to be reminded of just where their place is."

"Sounds pretty tyrannical to me."

Loki cocked a brow, "Really? You would say that a tyrant cares nothing for the people he rules over correct?"

"Yes…."

"Then I am not a tyrant, all that I will do will stop your wars. All of your petty squabbling will cease under my rule and humanity will prosper better than ever before. I will spare you from the horrendous weight of independence. I will save you all from that horrible lie that you have all been tricked into believing."

Her tone was sarcastic, "How generous of you. And who exactly tricked us into believing this lie?"

"Yourselves."

"It sounds to me," Natasha said, "That you are merely a tyrant pretending to care about the people he's about to attempt to rule. I think that you plan to crush us all underfoot to gain your power and then will only care for those below you so you have people to rule over."

She had expected him to grow angry with her, perhaps even resort to violence to punish her for daring to speak such words to him. At the very least, the young woman had anticipated a glare but received no such response. Loki merely smiled at her, as if she were a child who was merely grasping at understanding his plan.

"You all are so fixated upon the thought that I am acting to make you all suffer. That I aim to take your freedom away to hurt you." He drew closer, "I assure you that if that was my goal, there are far better ways to make humanity suffer. "

His eyes darkened then and his hand drifted up to rest on Natasha's throat, applying no pressure, but the unspoken threat still hovering in the air.

"But regardless of your beliefs and thoughts, I will brook no rebellion, no resistance against me. That, you have my word on."

Black Widow bit back her need to say something, since the words she had in mind would certainly bring rage into the Asgardian. Not a good thing to do when his fingers were resting upon her neck. Instead she sought to change the subject.

"Why have you brought me here?" She said after a moment of silence.

"That would be telling, Miss Romanoff." His hand fell away.

"I see, so this is going to be a game you'll play with me then?"

"Perhaps."

"Don't start what you can't finish."

"Are you challenging me, Na-ta-sha?" Loki purred, placing teasing enunciation on her name.

She nearly recoiled in shock. He had never used her name before and she wasn't quite sure what to make of it. But what was even more disturbing was the look in his eyes. It was not mirthful, malevolent or predatory. Instead they had almost a bright gleam, as if he were exchanging witty banter with a friend instead of a captive he had imprisoned in a rusty cell. Still, this change could also be advantageous to her learning the reason behind her captivity here, so she did not hide the feeling of intimidation she felt upon him treating her this way. Instead, she nurtured it; let it grow so it showed visibly on her face.

Loki reacted as she expected him to and he drew in closer, attempting to further this expression. She gave him what he wanted and to further concrete this, she took a step back. He followed her, matching each of Natasha's retreating steps with some of his own. Soon he had her corralled (or perhaps it was the other way around?) against the nearby wall, looming over her with that easy smirk still in place. A cold hand reached up to toy with a lock of hair hanging by her face.

"Well, are you?" He asked again, leaning forward just a bit.

Visibly swallowing, she lifted her head, "Yes."

Her voice was leaning slightly towards the meek side. Like that of prey that attempts to be strong or brave. But briefly, Natasha couldn't help but wonder who was really the prey in this scenario. The Asgardian before her chuckled, whether it was from her answer, her position or the tone of her voice, she was unsure. Regardless of the reason, he had taken the bait and it would only be a matter of time before she discovered the true reason of her being here. Loki took yet another step forward, nearly suffocating her with his presence. Or at least that's what she made him think that he was doing.

"Challenge accepted."

**A/N: I know this one is a bit shorter than the last one but I figured that would be a really good place to leave off and get you guys an update. :3 I'll try to get the next one out soon! R&R Please!**


	11. Authors Note

Alright, I know this will be disappointing for some of you but it may be a while before I can update. Chemistry is giving me an even bigger work load than I could have possibly imagined. I have well over 50 assignments (Yes, over 50!) that I have to complete by Tuesday and almost all of them are math related, something that I struggle with. Not to mention I still have a whole table of conversions to memorize and a few chapters to read so I am scrambling to keep up. I'm not discontinuing but updates will be slower than I expected this semester since it's not even the end of the 2nd week of class and I'm already getting my ass handed to me. This story **WILL** be continued but it will now be at a snail's pace. I'm so sorry!

Thank you SO much to all who have stuck with my story! I am so very happy as this is my first story (not that I've ever posted many on here) that has reached 100 reviews! Thank you guys for reading my story and giving me feedback!

And again, sorry that this will take so long!


	12. The Road to Heaven

**A/N: Well! I'm alive but whether or not my brain is, is debatable. I guess we shall see! xD Also, I don't really know if Stark tower was on the island of Manhattan but I do recall the final fight being there and Tony thoroughly taunted Loki in his tower so I just figured. If that is not where it's located, sorry! **

Chapter 11

It was a strange feeling for Black Widow since she had not felt like this for a long time. It was a curious thing to contemplate but there was no mistaking it. Natasha was bored. It had been two days since she had awoken and she was at a loss of what to do. She had already prepared her shank, segments of the old shirt wrapped around one end to help protect her from cutting herself. She already had the guard patrols down so she knew roughly about the time to make her escape (and which guard would be posted) and she now knew what kind of building she was being held in. On her trips to be taken to the bathroom, Natasha had concluded that she was being held in an old abandoned warehouse close to a city as she could see it not too far off. This would be ideal for her escape as she could lose herself into the city crowd very easily.

Everything had been done in preparation for her to get away but she still wanted to wait another day at least. She had hoped to gather some more information about Loki and his plans while she was here but it was proving to be difficult. Last time she got information out of him, it was because he had underestimated her. Now, he was treading more carefully, being more guarded in the things he said and she had yet to learn anything other than he believed that he would be helping the world in his take over. Nothing useful.

The loud whir of machinery cut through her cell again. The day before, the noise had started up and Natasha had not been given the opportunity to see what it was they were working on. Of course, when she came here, there was already the loud racket of machinery but since yesterday, it had only grown louder. She feared that either Loki had reclaimed the Tesseract or was close to doing so. At this point, she wasn't entirely sure waiting was a good idea. If there was even the smallest possibility of Loki getting close to the Tesseract, Fury and the Avengers needed to know as soon as possible.

The young spy sat down on the cot in her cell, contemplating what her next step should be but never got to make a decision. The door to her cell creaked open and Natasha snapped her head up, fully expecting either Loki or a guard that has brought some food. She was surprised to see neither. Instead it was a young woman, clutching a tray of food. Her green eyes surveyed the new comer and found that she looked familiar. Her hair was a soft honey brown that rolled like a waterfall down her back and her eyes, an equally golden brown.

"….Miss Foster?" Natasha asked with a tinge of surprise.

A weak smile came across her face, "Yes. You're one of the Avengers, right? Natasha?"

"I- yes. How are you not under Loki's control?"

Jane's smile slipped from her face, "That….jerk is intentionally keeping it so. He has been a torment to me. I think it is to get revenge on Thor."

"As unpleasant as this has been," Natasha said, "This is makes things easier."

"How so?"

Green eyes flicked tellingly over to the door in a gesture to tell Jane to speak quieter from here on out. The spy lowered her own voice accordingly.

"I had aimed to free you but would have had a difficult time carrying you out and escaping."

"This may not be a good thing. I'm not even supposed to be in here. Loki gave express orders to me that I was not to enter here."

"But the guard was not aware?"

Jane smiled a bit mischievously, "I think he believed that I would be so afraid to disobey his orders that he didn't say anything. Thus far, I have behaved quite well, making him let down his guard around me. I'm not like you guys. I needed for him to drop his guard as my best chance to escape."

Natasha smirked, "Very cunning of you. He does have a problem with letting his pride get in the way, doesn't he?"

"He does. But enough of that. How is Thor? Have you seen him? Has he returned?"

"When I was last with Shield, he was not present and we had no way to contact him. So I have no clue how he is." Black Widow replied, "But you've been outside, haven't you? What's going on? It got noisy yesterday and it hasn't stopped."

Jane looked disheartened, "Loki has taken possession of the Tesseract. The team that he has….enslaved has been working non-stop to get it up and running. "

Natasha looked confused, "But why would he set up here? This abandoned warehouse hardly seems the place to harness the tremendous amount of energy he needs to kick start the cube."

"There is a power plant right next to this place and some of the people he's controlling work there. They are pilfering some of the energy but it won't be enough." She smiled then, "I told them that it would to try to stall them. I can only stall for so long though. I know that once they discover that the energy they have procured won't be enough; I'll likely be punished by Loki."

"Then we shouldn't waste time."

Natasha whispered her plan to Jane so that the guard outside the door wouldn't hear. Jane then nodded in understanding and watched as the red-head crumpled to the floor, as though lifeless. The astrophysicist leapt to her acting role enthusiastically.

"Natasha?" Her voice was strained, coated with feigned fear and the young spy found herself impressed.

"Natasha!"

Loud footsteps echoed around the room, bouncing off the rusty steel walls. It was then followed by banging which could only have been caused by Jane's small fists beating upon the door.

"Sir! Sir! She went pale and passed out and I don't think she's breathing!"

Jane, had she chosen not to pursue the realms of science, could have been an actress. A very successful one, at that. The lock on the door clicked, distinctly announcing that the guard had believed the young scientist and was opening the door to come in and see for himself. The hinges squealed in protestation as the guard entered the room.

"What happened?" He demanded.

"I-I don't know! We were talking and then she suddenly trailed off and-and-and she just collapsed! Please help her!"

Footsteps drew nearer to Natasha and soon the light overhead that she could still see through her closed eyelids was eclipsed, telling her that the guard was standing over her. Clothing rustled softly as she could hear him kneeling down to get a better look. When his hand touched her neck, searching for a pulse, Natasha sprung to life. Her fist struck his throat, painfully, traumatizing his vocal chords so he would temporarily be unable to scream or yell. He choked and gasped and barreled his own fist at her face but was not fast enough. Black Widow, swiped his feet from underneath him with her legs and flipped him onto his back and knocked him out with a blow to the temple. She sat the body up and settled her hands around his head, so she could snap his neck.

"Don't!" Jane protested, "Don't kill him!"

Natasha looked over towards the woman, a disbelieving look in her eyes. The scientist's eyes were wide with shock and horror. It was quite apparent that she had not expected the Shield operative to take the guard down so quickly. Even more so, she was horrified that the red-head was even considering killing him. She contemplated her options. It would likely be more trouble than it's worth if she went ahead and killed the guard. While she had heard a bit about Jane Foster through Shield, she knew little of her real personality. Based on what she was seeing now, killing this man would likely distress Jane more, so much so that it could jeopardize their escape.

Black Widow let go of the man and he slumped to the floor. She went over to her cot and pulled out the shank and the greasy shirt and proceeded to cut it into pieces. Then she secured the guards arms behind his back, holding it so both forearms were forming a horizontal line. Once that was done, she pulled the helmet off he was wearing and stuffed a few pieces in his mouth, placing his head gear back on when she was done. She then had Jane help her drag him out into the hall. With some difficulty, the two women pulled the guard upright and secured his frame to the door through various hooks they found where people would padlock the door shut. When their job was done, it appeared as if the guard was still keeping watch over the prison and would hopefully remain that way for a while.

"Follow me and keep quiet." Natasha instructed when they were finished.

Normally, escaping prisoners pray for a clear way out with no guards. Natasha, however, was hoping to run into one. While she was very adept at defending herself in hand to hand combat, Jane was not. The spy wished to procure a gun from one of the guards. The halls were empty though, and it made Natasha nervous. It was not normal to not see a guard posted a few corners in a base of operations. She feared that it had to do with the increased noise echoing through the warehouse. Then, Natasha got what she wanted, a guard rounded the corner just ahead of them. His yell could barely be heard over the heavy machine work filling the halls.

He never had a chance. No one heard him and the woman he was up against was far faster than he would ever be and soon he was unconscious on the ground. His gun was then given to Jane, who took it with wide eyes but then shook her head and handed it back. When Natasha gave her a questioning look, Jane mouthed back, "I don't know how."

The spy took back the weapon with a small frown. She had hoped to give the young scientist a chance to defend herself if things went wrong but it would appear things weren't going to work out that way. She would simply have to keep a close eye on her. The guard she had incapacitated was stuffed in a nearby closet. Suddenly the machines went quiet and it became obvious that they two women were right around the corner from the room that they were held in.

"Has Miss Foster been brought her food yet?"

Natasha paled. Loki was in the warehouse room, with the machinery. This was definitely going to make things complicated. She looked back to the wide-eyed Jane and gestured for her to follow. They darted to the opposite direction. Conveniently enough, there happened to be a low window not far from where they had been. The two escapees climbed out of it and made towards the edge of the premises. Natasha was forced to bring up her gun and shoot as a guard, armed with a gun caught sight of the two woman. The bullet caught him in head, dropping him like a lead weight.

The gunshot alerted the other guards in the area and soon bullets were raining down upon Jane and Natasha. They ran, rushing towards an open road and some parked cars. A smirk crawled across her face. She knew how to hotwire a car and with that, they could get the hell out of here. The sun was hot and the bullets were vicious and the two were forced to dive for cover repeatedly and it seemed to take an age for them to reach a car. The female Avenger smashed in the window of a pickup truck and unlocked the door. She unlocked the passenger side so Jane could climb in with her and then she set to work, keeping her head low. Jane had been given the gun and instructed to try and shoot at the guards, if nothing else to keep them scrambling for cover and to keep them at bay.

It only took a few minutes to hotwire the car but it felt like an eternity to the two women having bullets fired at them. When the car finally started, Natasha drove off, but not before catching sight of an enraged God of Mischief in the distance, running towards the vehicle. She made sure to flash a smirk his way, whether he could see it or not, before they drove off. There was a moment of silence in the car as both Jane and Natasha tried to catch their breath and stared straight ahead of them. When at last they stopped breathing heavily the two grinned triumphantly and began to laugh in ecstasy.

"I can't believe we got away!" Jane exclaimed, her grin nearly reaching her ears.

"I admit, I was worried Loki was going to try and blast us to oblivion. Or catch us before we got out."

"Me too!"

Natasha pressed harder on the gas, suddenly feeling paranoid that Loki could still pop up at any minute. God or no, she doubted that he could catch up with a truck going eighty miles an hour but it was best to be safe. She had no desire to be within his grasp again and she shuddered to think of the rage he would possess if he caught the two of them. Through the window, Natasha could smell salty air, and on the right side, docks flitted by. Still, that didn't narrow things down on where they were exactly.

"Do you know where we are?" She finally asked Jane.

"We are on the island of Manhattan. The warehouse was dockside, as you can tell."

Relief settled over Black Widow. She had feared that they would have been far from where the Avengers tend to hover. This would make it much easier to contact Fury. She contemplated going to Stark Tower to contact the others. Natasha decided against it. That would be the first place that Loki would look.

"Check the glove box and compartments. Maybe we'll get lucky and one of the guards forgot their cell phone."

An explosion of a nearby boat jolted the two of them.

"Search quickly." Natasha added, flooring the gas pedal.

'Of course, now other cars want to get on this road.' She thought with annoyance, her lip curling.

She weaved through the sudden onset of traffic, desperately trying to stay ahead of Loki. Green eyes darted to the rearview mirror and she could see the God, riding in the back of a truck, his scepter in hand. Jane was still rifling through the compartments, searching desperately for a cell phone. Natasha was forced to swerve into oncoming traffic when she saw a blue ball of energy racing towards their car. The vehicle rocked as it was narrowly missed but stayed on the road and she had enough time to jerk back over into the correct lane.

"Found one!" her passenger cried triumphantly.

Natasha snatched it and dialed out the number she needed, swerving again to avoid another ball of energy. The phone began to ring. Car horns blared loudly, obnoxiously as she weaved in between them to avoid the attacks from Loki. People were screaming and running, trying desperately to escape what was happening. Jane screamed when Natasha had no choice but to run over a man who had ran out in front of the truck. They couldn't stop and there was nowhere to swerve. The truck rocked and bounced like she had gone over a large speed bump before continuing on. She wished hadn't needed to, but there had been no choice.

"Who is this?" came Fury's voice over the phone.

"Director, it's Agent Romanoff."

"Where have you been? We thought you had died in the crash."

"I didn't die," she told him, "I was taken prisoner by Loki."

The truck rocked again as another blast collided with a nearby building.

"What? Where are you now? We can bring the ship over to get you. The Avengers have just left on a plane to stop a chase in Manhattan. According to our camera's it's Loki."

"I know it's him, sir."

"How's that?" Fury asked apprehensively.

"Because he's chasing Jane Foster and myself."

"Jesus, well sit tight, Romanoff. Help is on the way."

"Wait sir, there's something you should know-"

Natasha had meant to tell him about the Tesseract and how it was now in Loki's grasp but she never had a chance. The truck was suddenly hit and the force of the blow sent the vehicle rolling. The phone was yanked out of her hand and she was tossed and thrown around like she was a rag doll. Glass shattered and the frame of the truck crumpled, enough to bash the girls inside, but not enough to trap or crush them. When at last the car stopped moving, the world still seemed to be spinning. The stench of blood permeated the air and her entire body was wrapped in pain. The truck had landed upside down, smoke gushing into the air.

"Jane?" Natasha called out, her voice a bit hoarse.

The scientist was quiet, still, blood trickling from her cheek and nose. Her eyes were closed and for a moment, the spy feared the worse. Shaking fingers probed her neck for a pulse and Natasha was relieved when she found one. She unbuckled their seatbelts and dragged herself out of the window, her face contorting as the shards cut into her flesh. The suit she was wearing helped reduce the damage but they still cut through and tore at her flesh. When she got to her feet, she realized they had run right into a seaside courtyard. The stone benches had been destroyed and now lay as rubble on the ground.

Her legs were shaking beneath her, the very bones of her body crying out in protest. Blood was trickling down her face, coming from a gash she had on her forehead. Her lips were also split and cut, not to mention some places on her face where the glass had cut her. It also hurt to breathe. With every inhalation the left side of her ribcage exploded in pain. There was a high probability that she had broken or cracked a few ribs. Her right thigh was sporting a nasty gash that was oozing blood but she was lucky. It was on the outside which meant that her femoral artery had not been hit. It suddenly occurred to her that she was unarmed and pretty wounded, so her hand-to-hand fighting would be unsteady at best.

Natasha hobbled around to the other side of the truck as fast as she could manage. She didn't have the time to pull Jane out of the truck, and the gun was lying right there on the roof of the car. Her hand seized it and just in time. The truck that had been following them pulled up, Loki still in the back, a small smirk on his face. Natasha knew that she couldn't take out the Asgardian with a gun from this distance, it was even debatable at point-blank. But she could take out the driver, who would also likely be a threat. The spy took her gun, and easily shot the driver. Laughing, Loki jumped out of the back of the truck and strode towards her.

"You have been a bad girl." He chided

Despite his cavalier attitude, Natasha could feel the anger buzzing beneath his persona. It was obvious to Black Widow that her actions amused him, brought him entertainment, but at the same time made him angry. And she knew it was because this chase through the port had drawn in the attention of the Avengers and they would be here any moment.

'Where are they?' she thought desperately, gripping the gun tightly.

"This little game of yours is over now."

Natasha fired a bullet at his head. Loki moved and although she didn't actually see it, she knew he had because suddenly he was gone. She pulled herself back as quickly as she could, just narrowly missing the god who had moved to attack her. The red-head fired again and watched in horror as the bullet seemed to glance off of his skin. And every other bullet she shot didn't even scratch him. He blurred before her eyes again and then she was on the ground, his hand grasping her throat.

Loki loomed over her, fury snapping behind his eyes, but a pleasant smile still in place on his mouth. Natasha had never felt more intimidated then she had then; when there was anger in his eyes and a smile on his mouth. The dark-haired god was already unpredictable as it was but seeing him like this made it more so. Her face was school to indifference but she was certain that it would be meaningless beneath his all knowing stare. A smooth, velvety laugh rolled over her ears and every muscle in her body tensed.

"This was a fun little chase but you have to come back now."

Natasha felt the haze of his magic falling over her mind again.

'No!' she thought desperately, fighting with all she could muster.

It was unnecessary for a blur of red metal caught the corner of her eye until it slammed into the side of her assailants face. He flew to the side, sent sprawling across the concrete until he was slammed to a stop against a stone post, but spider webbed cracks had formed from the impact. Loki slumped on the ground.

"Back off, Prancer."

That familiar, tinged robotic voice made Natasha's heart soar with joy and hope. Never before had she thought she'd be so happy to see Tony Stark. A smile broke out across her face when she saw his suited face angle down to look at her, the two slots for eyes glowing with a white blue light.

"You're late." She said a bit breathlessly.

"Fashionably." Natasha could just _hear_ his grin, "How you doing Sneak Attack? We thought you had died."

"That roll in the truck was not exactly a pleasant sensation."

"I'll bet."

He suddenly jerked his head forward and fired one of his repulsion rays, his palm facing Loki. The attack missed and suddenly there was a tangle of god and metal, flying through the air. Natasha got to her feet and hobbled over to the truck and began to pull Jane out. It was incredibly difficult, with bruised bones, broken ribs and weak limbs. Not to mention the shards of glass that were still digging into her flesh. She had nearly given up, when a muscled arm came into view and took hold of Jane as well.

"Jesus, Tasha. You look like you got run over by a truck." He said jokingly.

She smiled, wryly at Clint, "Help me get her out, smartass."

The two managed to work the young scientist out of the overturned truck without hurting her. Barton lifted the still unconscious woman and placed her on his back.

"Can you still run?"

"I don't think so." She admitted, "But I can try."

Hawkeye took off with Jane on his back. In the distance, Natasha could see a plane landed and that would be their destination. Captain America blurred by, saluting her and continued to charge towards Iron Man and Loki, his shield in hand. Black Widow rushed to follow her partner but found she could barely manage a jog for all the pain she was in. She felt like someone was ripping into her lungs with each breath she made. But she gritted her teeth and put up with it. As long as she was out here, she was vulnerable to Loki. She was almost to the ship when she suddenly saw Thor fly by, hammer whirling.

'Well, I guess that means they already know that Loki has the tesseract.'

Relief settled over her as she made it inside the plane. The hatch closed behind them and the engines kicked to life.

"Shouldn't we wait for them?" Natasha called up to Barton.

"We're gonna come back. We gotta get you and Jane to the med bay back on the main ship. Oh that's right! You were gone a bit. They replaced the ship with a fancy new one. And we added a new staff member. You're not gonna believe it."

"Believe what?"

Clint laughed, "You'll see."

xxxx

"What did you two get run over by? A truck?"

Natasha was a bit surprised. This woman, no, girl, before her looked hardly old enough to be working in a medbay. She was about twenty-three and short, but what she lacked in height, she had in curves. Black hair tumbled down to her mid back and piercing blue eyes regarded the two girls in front of her, taking in their condition.

"Well, we kind of did." Jane said sheepishly, "The truck rolled while we were in it."

The dark-haired girl cringed, "Ouch. Yeah, that's close enough. Let's get you both sitting on a bed and I'll get to work. You'll be up and about very shortly."

"You can't mean to fix us completely here, do you?" Natasha asked dubiously.

An impish grin broke across the stranger's face, "I do, infact."

"But how?" Jane asked, wide-eyed, "That's not possible."

"Oh trust me, it is. Now let me take a look at you."

Natasha's eyes widened as the girl approached her and a blue glow sheathed her body. As she grew closer, her aura grew brighter and all the aches from the accident in her body seemed to fade away. Her eyes were glowing now, just as bright as the sea blue around her hands and frame and she settled her fingers upon the spy. There was a probing sensation and the exploding pain in her ribs seemed to sooth at her touch. Then she pulled back and went over to Jane and all the pain came back to her body.

"Hmmm, it seems you've got the worse damage here." She said to Jane, "I'll get it fixed up though."

"You're… a mutant?" the scientist said stunned.

"That's such an…ugly word. I prefer someone with a gift. With my abilities, I can do more than a doctor with years of experience in college in any hospital. Of course, I look into the health stuff so I can know the things I need."

The blue radiating around her hands touched the wounds on Jane and Natasha watched with fascination and disbelief as the wounds slowly began to knit together, the flesh crawling across her bones. When she was done, all that was left was crusty dried blood. The healer moved her hands to rest upon Jane's shoulder, which was bruised and crooked. In fact, the collar bone looked to be broken all together. The blue intensified, her eyes glowing even more eerily in the light.

"Th-that's amazing!" Jane exclaimed with wide eyes, "You can heal?"

"Well yes but not just that. I can manipulate cells in the body. Name's Alyson. I'm also known as Stitch. Some of the big time companies call me Lobotomy though."

"Why Lobotomy?" Natasha asked, but suspected she already knew a part of the answer.

Alyson's eyes darkened a bit, clouded over with memory before she smiled a smile that was riddled with guilt and said, "Let's just say I'm not always the caring nurse whenever people try to kidnap me."

An awkward silence fell.

"Alright, girlie, we'll need to step into the back, and you're gonna have to strip."

Jane went red.

"Why?"

"Because, I may be able to heal, but I'm gonna have to pick out those glass shards one by one. You don't want me to heal you with some of those still in your skin."

"Oh, o-okay."

Alyson grinned and chuckled, "Don't worry, I'm not gonna molest you. I like guys, ok? So relax."

xxxx

"Well, Clint, you should take Jane for a tour. People who don't need healing need to stay out of my medbay." Stitch said.

"Aren't nurses supposed to be caring?" the archer grinned.

"And I am. Now would you like me to give you a wound that needs caring for?"

"No, no. Let's go, Miss Foster, I would like to remain in one piece."

The two left, leaving Alyson and Natasha alone. The black-haired healer turned to the injured woman and rested her hands on the side of her ribcage. Crystalline blue eyes began to steadily grow brighter, glowing like a will o wisp that flitted through the trees in the distance. Black Widow's skin began to buzz and feel a bit numb. Then she felt something moving beneath her skin and she realized that it was her ribs, moving through the healing process to mend back into whole bones.

"Alright, I'm gonna need you to strip down too. You have a bunch of glass shards in you as well."

Natasha stood and removed the buckle at her waist and empty holsters for her guns which were now in the ocean. Then, slowly, she pulled herself out of the tight suit, wincing at the feeling of the glass pulling at her skin. When she was down to her under garments, Alyson set to work with a pair of tweezers, pulling the pieces out of her back first. For a while, things were quiet, almost awkward but not because of Natasha's state of undress.

"You killed that man, who tried to kidnap you, didn't you?"

There was a moment of silence and the only thing that disrupted it was the whir of machinery and the quiet tapping of glass being dropped in the small dish that she held.

"No."

Natasha waited and when nothing came she opened her mouth to say something. But she never got the chance.

"But I might as well have. I didn't actually do a lobotomy on him. When he cornered me…I was desperate and I wasn't even sure it would work. But when he got close, I grabbed his head and I necrotized a part of his frontal lobe."

Cold, feminine hands rested upon Natasha's back and began to heal the wounds there.

"It would have been better to kill him."

"Why do you say that?" Black Widow asked her.

"Because I have permanently changed who he is! Maybe even killed his personality all together. I don't know exactly where I hit him but I could have rendered him completely devoid of emotion. I could have destroyed his motor cortex so he'd never be able to move again!"

Alyson took a deep breath.

"I could have made him blind and deaf! The frontal lobe may not actually control the sight and hearing but it's what processes the sensory intake. I could have killed who he is. And just…."Her voice broke, "No one deserves that. It would have been kinder to kill him."

"There's nothing you can do about it now."

"I know." She sighed then, "Sorry. I shouldn't have spilled that all out on you."

Alyson knelt down to begin removing glass from the gash on Natasha's thigh.

"It's ok. It does you no good to bottle things up."

"You should take your own advice there."

The spy looked at the healer kneeling on the ground, engrossed in working on her wound, slightly taken aback.

"Excuse me?"

"You bottle things up. Like I do. I can see it in the way you move. You have something in your eyes, in your body language. I don't know exactly what it is or what's going on, but you feel guilty about something too."

Natasha did not reply.

"But whatever it is, you're trying to help now. I'm trying to let go of my guilt too. Just, something I try to keep in mind….."

Alyson stood up and brought her blue eyes to her green ones. An encouraging smile spread across her face. In that smile, Natasha could see much. She could see heartbreak, sadness, betrayal, pain, anger but there was one thing that stood out the most; Hope.

"The road to heaven is paved with good intentions too."

**A/N: Wow, this is my longest chapter yet! 12 pages on word woot! I'm also ecstatic to know that I got a 79 on my first test in Chem! Just need to clean up my conversions and understand the units better and I'll be good to go! Sorry it took so long and I hope you enjoy! Also, Alyson is an OC but she will not be important. She will appear again, how frequent I have yet to decide but she will not be a driving force or focus. Finally, thank you all for understanding and sticking with me! Regardless of what happens I have every intention of finishing this story! :D **


	13. Sands of Time

**A/N: Yep, I'm alive. Barely but still alive and with a passing grade in chemistry. :D Yay! Hopefully within a few months I will be able to finish this story. I know how I want to end it but I'm just not entirely sure what all should happen between now and the end. I'll work it out though! And it has also just occurred to me that I have yet to put up a disclaimer so here goes:**

**I do not own any of the awesomeness that this fanfiction stemmed from! None of the awesome characters or awesome personalities. Or even any of the awesome artifacts. However, I wish I did. :3**

Chapter 12

The room began to feel uncomfortable to Natasha and all at once, she felt angry. This young woman, who she had never met before in her life, suddenly could peer beyond her carefully constructed mask. As a spy it was her job to keep her emotions under careful guard from both herself and others. It was unsettling to see a girl, who has not had any military or special training, see right through to her core. Something didn't seem right about that. The fact was that her deeds from before her time with SHIELD haunted her conscience. But there was no way that Alyson could have known about her past….Unless she asked Clint about it. Black Widow snatched a hold of the mutant's pale wrist when she moved to heal her face.

"Hey!" She protested.

"You have no right" Natasha cut her off in a cold voice, "to ask my teammates about my past."

"Whoa, calm down. I didn't ask anyone about anyone's past. That's your own business."

"Then how is it you know about mine?"

"I don't. I don't know what you've done to who or when. Quite frankly I don't care. Your past and mistakes are your own. What I do know is whatever it was that you did or are doing, you regret it."

The red-head felt deeply disturbed. Loki had seen into her inner emotions before but he had magic at his disposal that could bypass all of her barriers, but this girl, saw this with her own powers of perception. And to Natasha, that was far more unnerving to know she needed no magic to know what she was feeling.

"How do you know this?" she asked softly, almost as if she were afraid of the answer.

"I went to Xavier's School for Rejects. There were a lot of people running, hiding from what they did, who they were. That long in that environment and I can just pick those people out. I couldn't tell you what it is specifically you're doing but you just have this….air about you. The way you move, talk. Others who don't know you may not see it but I can. I promise, I didn't ask Barton….or anyone, anything about your past."

Things fell silent for a moment.

"Now, can you please stop crushing my hand? You've got the grip of a gorilla."

Natasha had forgotten that she had even grabbed Alyson's hand to begin with and immediately released it like it had burned her. The dark-haired woman grinned gratefully at her and then set to work on healing the abrasions and cuts on her face. When she had finished patching the spy up, the red-head tensely strode towards the door to leave the medbay.

"Oh, Natasha?"

Green eyes swiveled to the side in her direction even though the female Avenger's head did not move, her hand still poised on the door knob.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry to have brought that subject up. I can tell it unnerved you. It wasn't my place or business."

When she left, Natasha decided that she didn't much like Alyson.

xxxx

Director Fury had given Natasha orders to stay on the ship while the rest of the Avengers continued the fight with Loki. She was not happy about it, but she respected the director's decision and stayed close to Jane Foster. It was easy to tell that the scientist was nervous about the fight. The group had been gone for half an hour. While that may not be a very long time, that long in a battle with Loki could have some nasty repercussions. And injuries. Very nasty and dangerous injuries that would spew blood and force her teammates to cling to life by merely a thread.

Luckily for Natasha and Jane, this did not happen. When the team finally returned, they looked battered, bruised and roughed up, but they were still clearly alive and would be just fine. Although Tony was going to have to go through a session of healing with Alyson because of how cut up he was. Thor seemed to have the least amount of injuries only next to Clint and Banner. Of course, Natasha knew that Barton didn't sport any injuries since he was at a distance from all of the fighting with his reliable bow. And she was fairly certain that it would take nothing short of a warhead to bring Bruce in injured after him battling as the Hulk.

Steve looked the most defeated out of all of them. His eyes seemed shadowed, the battle and previous fights weighing heavily down upon his shoulders, as if it were trying to grind him into the linoleum floor. His posture was slumped, slightly sagging from exhaustion and he was walking slowly, not carrying on at the sure and brisk pace he usually has. In his hand, the shield was clutched loosely, as if he planned to drop it at any moment. Cuts, gashes and bruises covered his frame and they were still bleeding freely, dribbling lightly onto the floor.

"Well," Tony said with a limp, breaking the awkward silence that hung in the air, "I feel like I've just attended a funeral. Is it time to break out the stripper pole and watch Sneak attack do some moves?"

Natasha deadpanned, "As long as one of those moves is me shoving that pole up your ass."

Barton laughed and clapped the billionaire on the shoulder, "I wasn't aware that you liked it that way, Stark. I think I have to reshape my opinion of you."

"Well this is a beautiful woman here." He said slyly, "As long as it's her she can shove anything up my ass."

Black Widow paid him little mind, she was actually too distracted by Jane emerging into the bridge and staring at Thor. Tony continued to bicker on, seemingly oblivious to the silent stare that was occurring between Thor and the astrophysicist. Jane was the first to move and she nearly threw herself at the God of Thunder and he eagerly caught her. The two engaged in a desperate kiss, their starvation for one another evident in the way they were gripping each other as if they would vanish if they didn't hold on tight enough.

Barton, with a sly grin, cleared his throat conspicuously, bringing the couple to their senses and they jumped away from each other as if they had been shocked. Natasha smiled in amusement. Jane and Thor had been away from each other for a considerable amount of time and it was understandable that they were so enthusiastic to see each other again. Fury had his usual stern look on his face, his one visible eye narrowed in a disapproving stare.

"Got it out of your system?" He asked, still not breaking the expression on his face.

"Aww, don't be a spoilsport Cyclops," Tony said with a grin, "you know you were enjoying the show."

Jane flushed deeply giving an awkward cough behind her hand, pointedly looking at the ground. Thor, however, did not seem to be bothered by the attention they had been given and merely hugged the young woman to his side. Barton snickered in amusement but said nothing. It was Steve that spoke up this time.

"We can have personal conversations later. Right now we have to focus on Loki."

"Were you guys able to recover the Tesseract?" Natasha asked, leaning back against a nearby guard rail.

"No." Thor replied from next to Jane, "Some of the people he took control of relocated the Tesseract whilst we were busy battling with my brother."

"And Loki used his magic to slip away from us before we could capture him." Banner said, taking a seat in a nearby chair next to a vacant computer.

"Alright team, for the next few days our primary goal is to track down Loki and that Cube. Stark go get healed up with Alyson and you work with Banner to find out any possible locations where the Tesseract could be set up for activation." Director Fury said, resting his hands on a rail, staring out the window at the sky, his one visible eye creased in thought, "Romanoff, Barton, you two try to look up any of our contacts and see what information you can get from them if they've seen Loki. Also, help Stark and Banner conduct their search. Thor, you will routinely do a sweep around the ship to ensure we are not attacked. Steve, you sit tight and help these guys out anyway you can. You also need to go pay a visit to Alyson, you look like you're ready to fall apart as well."

The team split up and went their separate ways on the ship. Natasha went straight to work, digging up any current information on any of Shield's contacts in the computer system and began making the calls and sifting through the files of strange occurrences on their databases. At 1 am, nine hours after she started, none of her searches had bore fruit. The red-head sat back in her chair and grabbed her large cup of coffee. Although there was no mirror nearby, she could feel that her eyes were blood shot and they were thick with fatigue. When a yawn crept up on her she chased it down with another gulp of the hot liquid caffeine in an attempt to kick start her system.

When the caffeine did not provide the immediate relief that she wanted, Natasha stretched languidly and long in the office chair. The movement sent the blood pumping through her limbs and she let all of it go at once and relaxed in a slump on the chair. She was beginning to feel that this search was a pointless one but orders were orders and she would continue to follow them.

Natasha spun the chair around when she heard the door to the room open. It was Steve, all his wounds healed but the same look of defeat hung like a cloud over him. He was also back in casual clothes instead of his Avengers suit that he wears to battle. What had happened in the fight with Loki that had him so down? She was almost afraid to ask.

"Steve. How do you feel?"

"Better now that Alyson has healed me. What she can do is surprising." He said, propping against a nearby wall, arms folded over his strong chest.

"Many of the mutants have surprising abilities." Natasha agreed with a nod, turning back to the computer screen and taking another swallow of hot coffee.

"You should get some sleep."

"Can't right now. I have to keep digging. So far no one's seen anything but there still a chance I'll find something."

"You need your rest if we could face Loki any day now." He pressed coming over to stand next to the desk, staring sternly at Natasha.

Sighing, she leaned back in her chair, "One more hour. After that, I'll go get some sleep, I promise."

A smile appeared on his face, "Deal."

Green eyes flicked back to the screen, digging through the information all lined up before her but nothing seemed to be standing out. A frown came across her face, feeling a bit frustrated. It would seem that Loki had learned his lesson well and was taking care not to leave any trail to follow. Frustrated, she drummed her fingers on the desk, biting her lip and she though for any other places that would be more likely to produce the information she needed.

"I owe you an apology."

Natasha snapped out of her deep thought and looked at the soldier, "Sorry?"

"I owe you an apology." He repeated patiently.

"For what?"

"For what happened on the ship before it went down. For what I did."

Realization dawned across her face and suddenly Natasha felt a twinge of guilt. She had forgotten about the incident when Loki had taken control of Steve. With all that had been going on, with her being a prisoner and then finding Jane Foster, being chased down the port in a truck, blasted and wrecked, the details of what had happened on the ship before she was captured had faded into more trivial matters. The guilt must really be eating at him because of the things he did. But it wasn't his fault and just like with Barton, he should not blame himself over something he had no control over.

"I almost got you killed…." Steve continued, "If Loki hadn't caught you…hadn't found you useful in some way….you would be dead."

"Steve-"

"I knew everything that I was doing! I was thinking very clearly when it happened and I think that's the worse part. I was myself and yet I wasn't myself."

"Steve, believe me, I know what you went through. Loki took control of me too. But it wasn't your fault and you shouldn't blame yourself over something you had no control over."

"But-"

"No buts!" Natasha insisted firmly, "You were not to blame and everyone on this ship seems to know that except you. Is that why you were looking so down when you got back on the ship after the battle with Loki?"

"No. That battle, it was my chance to bring down Loki, our chance. And we couldn't do it. But I almost had him and he used his magic to trick me. Then he got away. I won't fail like that again."

"Steve, this is Loki, he is the master of tricks and even Thor has a hard time telling when he's lying and when he's not. You shouldn't blame yourself. We'll get him."

"I hope so. I think I owe him after that."

Natasha wasn't entirely sure if she believed herself when she said they would catch him. Loki seemed to be much craftier this time than when he unleashed the Chitauri. It was likely because of his determination not to fail again. She set her jaw, regardless of his cunning, they had to stop him. The Chitauri were bad enough when he let them through to lay siege upon the world but she did not want to think of what else he could unleash.

A soft cough broke her thoughts and she suddenly became aware that Steve had not left the room. She was certain that he intended to stay there until she finished with her work and it made it difficult for her to focus. Natasha didn't like it when people hovered over her shoulder when she was supposed to be working. She tried to ignore him but every slight movement, every quiet breath distracted her. After five minutes of trying to ignore his presence, the red-head asked him to leave so she could focus. She kept her promise and after another hour of searching with no luck, she quit for the night and crawled into bed feeling exhausted.

xxxx

It was the first night, in what seemed like an eternity that she had no dreams. Her mind was filled with blissful black and restful sleep that went undisturbed until she roused the next morning, eyes heavy, stretching and yawning. When was the last time she had a restful night's sleep? There was a time when Natasha could have sworn that she had never in her life had a good night of sleep. Too bad that Shield had a potential global crisis they were trying to prevent or she would have taken the day easy.

Stretching long enough to loosen her muscles, Black Widow rolled out of bed and took a quick shower to get the left over dried blood out of her hair and off her skin. She was surprised to find that despite being in a car accident, she was not in the least bit sore. Allyson had apparently rid her muscles of any ache they would have had as a result of the crash.

Natasha had barely climbed out of the shower when she had received a call from Director Fury, ordering her to report to the bridge. She left, only shaking out her still wet hair and reported to the location asked of her immediately. Hawkeye was already there, arms folded, standing close to Fury. Agent Hill was on his other side, staying faithfully by his side. Bruce and Tony had yet to show up and it was likely that the billionaire was the cause. Steve, who was already there, came over to Natasha's side once she emerged into the bridge.

Thor came next, followed closely by Jane. Fury protested at first, but Clint pointed out that the young astrophysicist was already involved and it would do no harm to join in on this meeting. Not to mention she had been Loki's captor for a short amount of time, she may well have some sort of insight that she could provide. After that issue had been settled things fell into an almost uncomfortable silence. That is until Tony walked in with Bruce closely behind him.

"Alright, we can get started now that the important people have arrived." The billionaire announced in his usual cavalier attitude.

"Now that we're all here," Fury pinned a pointed look on Tony, "We can get started. Stark and Banner, whatever search results you have drummed up, you're going to have to do again. I received a call from one of our contacts that Loki traveling south. He was spotted in Virginia."

"He's heading south?" Natasha asked almost incredulously.

"My brother may have learned his lesson last time," Thor spoke, "and is likely trying to move the Tesseract beyond our reach so he can open the portal again."

"Well no problem, then." Smirked Tony, "We just head after him and get the cube away from him before he has the chance to set up."

"Easier said than done." Fury sighed, "There's a lot of states down south and we have no idea which one he's heading to. And the contact said that he saw them early this morning. And considering how fast their moving, he may be using magical means to speed up the transportation. We've already got the ship heading in that direction but chances are, we won't be able to track him down and stop him before he opens that portal. Thor you have any idea who he might be bringing over this time?"

The God of Thunder shook his head, "There are countless beings residing in the universe. Even beyond the knowledge of Asgard. All I can say with certainty is that it won't be the Chitauri this time."

"The situation is grim, team. Now we're gonna try to move in to a closer vicinity and keep an eye on Loki but so far, he's been difficult to track. Sit tight, rest up and be ready. I have a feeling that things are going to get ugly real soon. Stark you and Banner do another search and find all of the possible places the Tesseract can be set up on the eastern seaboard."

"Roger, Cyclops. We'll get it done."

"It might be best if we start looking into whatever weapons Shield carries as well." Bruce advised, "So even some of the staff will be prepared."

"We'll take that into account." Fury replied, "All of you are dismissed."

Natasha did not hesitate to head straight for the training room, Steve following with her.

"Where are you heading off to?"

"The training room. "

"Didn't Director Fury just say we need to rest?" Captain said in a disapproving tone.

"I'd rather prepare myself. I won't over do it."

"I guess I'll do the same. Would you like to spar?"

A smile came across Black Widow's face at the question, feeling excitement pump through her veins at the prospect of sparring with her teammate. It grew even further until it became a full blown grin. She then turned to her friend.

"Think you can handle it?"

"I'm sure I'll manage." Steve said with a smile of his own.

Xxxx

The end of the hour found both Natasha and Steve sitting on a nearby bench, sweating and a bit tired but happy all the same. He was wiping away sweat on his brow and face whilst the red-head was nursing a bottle of water. She sighed and plopped back against the wall. Their spar had ended in a tie but it was a close one.

"Now I'm going to need another shower." Natasha laughed, feeling like some of her stress had vanished after that exercise.

"Don't worry, I need one too."

They fell into silence again.

"Hey Natasha?"

"Hm?"

"After all of this has settled and the Tesseract is away safely again, I'd…like to take you out again sometime."

Natasha froze. He was still thinking about their date after all that had occurred. In truth, she had completely forgotten about it. With all that had happened, it easily got pushed to the back of her mind. Steve, however, had clearly still been thinking on it even through all of the trouble that had been brewing. And it suddenly occurred to her that she shouldn't have accepted the first date. Steve is very traditional and old fashioned. Natasha puts her job and duty to Shield above all else. He would want an entire dedication of emotion and a relationship, likely complete with picket white fences and children. This was not something that she could give.

"I….I can't." She said finally.

"Can't or won't?"

"Won't. Steve, you want more than I can give you. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have agreed to the first date. Dating isn't something I should do while I work for Shield."

"But you have dated Barton." He pointed out.

"Yes." She agreed, "But Barton also works for Shield. And he has for a very long time. He knows when things should stop. And he doesn't want things that we can't have or give. Shield will always come first, Steve. That's not the kind of relationship you want. What's more, it's not the kind of relationship I can give."

He wasn't looking at her. Instead, his eyes were fixated on the floor, a furrow in his brow and a frown on his mouth. Nothing was said for a few minutes before he abruptly stood but he did not turn and look at her.

"Of course. I understand." He said and then left.

Natasha wasn't convinced.


	14. Incursion

**A/N: I really should be studying since all this week, I'll be finishing up my classes. But I just can't help but work on this more! I don't really know anything about the Skrulls from Marvel universe. I looked up what they look like but that's about it so the rest is more of liberties taken on my behalf. Sorry if they aren't right. _**

Chapter 13 Incursion

There had been few times in Natasha's life where she had experienced such a suffocating tension that would nearly overwhelm her. It felt like her shoulders were carrying a tremendous boulder, sagging beneath the load that she bore. And the entire ship was under the same crushing force; even Tony was less cavalier than he normally was. They all knew that Loki would move soon and yet no one could do anything or could not find him. Director Fury was nearly impossible to deal with and Natasha was sympathetic of Agent Hill's predicament in having to put up with him. She did not envy her.

Still the stress and tension was overbearing and she could not spend all of her time sparring and training or she would wear herself out. It had already been three days since this man hunt began and they were no closer to tracking down Loki than when they first started. So now, here she was with Barton, playing an engaging match of chess. Clint wasn't that great of a player and she was fairly decent but they both knew each other fairly well that it made the game a challenge.

"Check." Her friend told her, moving his queen in a path diagonal of her king.

Natasha considered the board for a moment before moving a bishop to block the path. But should Barton take the bait, which she highly doubted he would, she could take his Queen with her Knight. The archer twisted his face into a thoughtful expression. After a minute he smirked at her and then flashed a grin.

"Very tricky of you, Tasha."

"I try my best." She smirked back at him.

Try as she may, she still could not bring her attention fully to the game, no matter how engaging it was. The fact that the next world disaster was possibly waiting for them in the near future was weighing too heavily on her mind for her to completely focus on a simple game of chess. Barton took her Bishop with a Rook. It was tempting for her to just take that piece with her Knight but then that would leave her King under protected since he could in turn take the Knight with his Queen. A thoughtful frown came across her face. Then she noticed something that Barton overlooked; her pawn. Her pawn was open to take his Rook. She moved and took his valuable piece. A look of surprise came across his face before he chuckled.

"You as tense as I am?" he asked her, moving one of his pieces on the board.

"And then some." She replied, moving a piece of her own.

"Think we can stop him?"

He moved again.

"Just after this fiasco started I would have said yes. Now I'm not so sure."

She responded to his advance and then sat back in her chair.

Natasha spoke next, "Do you think we can handle it if….all hell breaks loose?"

Clint shifted another piece before replying, "I'm not sure. We did it once but something tells me what's coming through that portal will be a whole lot nastier than the Chitauri."

The red-head winced at the thought but then turned her attentions back to the board. She was silent for a few moments before she finally said, "It's a Stalemate."

Her friend looked down in surprise and studied the chess board, "Huh, well son of a bitch. Good game, Tasha."

"Good game." She agreed.

Xxxx

That night she was plagued with nightmares, dark ones that crept its wicked fingers into her brain and _squeezed_ until she knew nothing but terror. Nightmares had the unique quality to bring raw fear in sleep over scenarios that would not be as frightening in consciousness. There were visions of the sky turning black and a great hole tearing through it pouring out demons and darkness. She would see her friends and teammates all dead, still bleeding freely on the pavement. The world was bathed in fire and ash, choking the earth in a destructive hold. People were running, screaming, clawing to get away from the death that was flying so swiftly towards them. She was attacked, forced to her knees by a shadowy, monstrous figure.

"Die."

The voice was one that equally matched the terrible character of its frame, though no features stood out for her to see. And as if she were possessed by some otherworldly force, she lowered her head, resigned toward the execution she was about to receive. The world fell silent, as if holding its breath for the death stroke to come. Time seemed to slow, dancing on the edges of reality before there was the high pitched song of metal resonating through the air. Pain exploded across her neck before all fell into silence.

Natasha wrenched herself awake then, sweat soaked and breathing hard. For a few moments she was disoriented, tense and ready for a creature of shadows to rise up from the floor and attempt to kill her once again. But reality soon set in and she realized that it had all been a nightmare. She sighed and slumped with relief on her bed, the sheets gathered around her waist. Pressing her hands to her face, she massaged her fingers gently as if the soft coaxing would ease away the images that had burned themselves into the back of her eyelids.

Frustrated, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and began dressing for the day. After she was ready, Natasha left in search of food as her stomach was grumbling in a very distracting way. After she had fed herself, she noticed that the tension had not dissipated over night. In fact, as she walked around the ship, she noticed that it had grown over night. The fact was it was taking too long to find Loki and most people suspected that they would not be able to stop him before he opened the portal again.

'And unleashes Hell all over again.' She thought grimly.

After much thought on what she would do to keep her mind off things, Natasha finally began to head to one of the sparring rooms on board, searching for one that was totally empty. When she found what she was looking for, a sigh escaped her and some of the muscles in her body relaxed. She stood there in the silence for a few moments, attempting to ease the tension out of her shoulders and frame. After she felt relaxed enough, Natasha pulled off her boots and deposited them near a wall so they would be out of the way. In almost a daze she walked to the center of the room, hearing beats and music in her head.

It had been a long time since Natasha had last danced ballet but it would seem that her body still remembered the moves, the steps like it had been but a short while ago. There was no music to fill the air, no rhythm, it all came from memory and she stepped with a grace that few seemed to possess. Time no longer seemed to move around her. The only motion that could be detected was her smooth pirouettes, majestic leaps and her smooth twirls. She had no idea how long she danced and during that time there was no Loki, no Shield, no nightmares, no global catastrophe looming on the horizon. Everything just seemed to fall away, and for the first time in what seemed a long while, her mind was at peace.

She danced and danced until sweat peppered her brow and her breath was slightly uneven yet she still continued to move, still not ready to face the burdens that often pressed heavily on her mind. Natasha only stopped dancing when the intercom for the ship buzzed obnoxiously before silencing to allow a voice to deliver its announcement.

"_Avengers report to the bridge at once."_

Natasha immediately straightened and pulled her boots back on. Her mind was now a maelstrom of heavy thoughts and worries. Was Loki found? Is the portal going to be open? Do they even have a chance at stopping him? These were but a few of the questions bouncing around her head but she forced herself to press on, not dwelling on any of them. Focusing on questions for long begets doubts. And she could not afford to have doubts. Resolution gleaming in her eyes, she strode into the bridge with her head held high, her posture shrugging away whatever uneasiness might have been lurking within her.

"Alright, team." Fury said when they had all arrived, "Things are about to get messy, we've located Loki but unfortunately, he's already opened the portal in Miami, Florida. I've already spoken with the council and they will not nuke the city under the risk of destroying the scepter. We can't close the portal if it's gone. So the primary mission is containment, evac and closing that portal."

"That's quite a stretch, even for us." Pointed out Steve.

"Don't worry about it, Senior Citizen, we can handle it. "

"I-I'm not entirely certain I share in your confidence." Banner said to Tony.

"We can do it, friends. It will be tough, but I'm confident that we will be triumphant." Thor added, "Leave my brother to me and I will retrieve the scepter."

"We'll need you helping contain the threat for as long as possible, Thor," Natasha told him, "I'll locate Loki in the confusion but I won't engage him. Once I find him, I'll contact you with his location and then you can take the scepter from him and hand it off to me. That way, you'll be handling the enemy for as long as possible and then we can get the portal closed."

"Good plan. I guess that means I'll hit up the rooftops and scout out." Clint said, folding his arms.

"Then that leaves me to take down the fliers. This is going to be one hell of a party." Tony smirked.

"What is wrong with you?" Natasha asked him with slight wonder.

"What's right with him?" Steve cocked a brow.

"Everything." The billionaire answered with a cheeky grin.

"Enough!" Fury snapped, "Get ready for we arrive in Miami in one hour."

Xxxx

That had been the longest hour of Natasha's life and when they emerged into the streets of Miami, it had been entirely accurate to describe Loki unleashing hell yesterday. It was pandemonium inside of the city. People were screaming and running, buildings were burning and crumbling. The air was zipping with flying machines with strange creatures riding them. The Avengers flew into action, charging to their respective jobs, already the city was raining with falling space vehicles as Iron Man and Hawkeye picked them off.

Natasha was dashing through the streets, shooting down the enemies on the ground to clear her path. Thunder cracked and roiled over head, telling her that Thor had began to attack. There was also a tremendous roar that echoed through the city even over the chaos of crumbling buildings and screaming citizens. That meant that Bruce had joined the fight as well. Another bullet fired from her gun, dropping another alien to the pavement.

"Watch yourself out there!" Steve called to her before they went in different directions.

"Clint!" She yelled over her communicator.

"What do you need, Tasha?"

"Where's that beam coming from that's opening the portal?"

There was a pause and Natasha was suddenly forced to dive around a corner as a flier plummeted from the air and screeched to a halt on the pavement, right where she had just been standing.

"From what I can tell, it's coming from the city power plant."

"Thanks, Clint. Watch your back."

"You too, Tasha."

If Loki was anywhere in the city, he would most likely be close to the Tesseract. He would likely want to defend it, in the event that any of their team had managed to gain some sort of key or tool to close the portal. Loki was one to protect his investments and plans. When a creature blocked her path, she moved swiftly and kicked it in the head so hard, it snapped its neck.

However, within a few blocks of running, Natasha had a stroke of luck. On the side, she noticed a weapons shop. Without hesitation she kicked in the door and raided the ammunition and packed it into her belt. She also snatched up a flawless and impossibly sharp Katana before running back into the streets. To conserve her bullets, despite having just stocked up, she swapped to the sword she had just taken, cutting down whatever enemy crossed her path.

"Tasha you got a flock of them heading on foot your way." Hawkeye warned her.

"Copy that."

Within minutes a rush of creatures rounded the corner and it was then that she finally got a look at them. Their skins were rough, scaly and green and it reminded Natasha of a reptile of some sort. But their ears were large and pointed. Their cheekbones were high and sharp, unnaturally sharp and their cheeks were gaunt and their chins rough with folds of skin. And their voices were monstrous sounding, far worse than the chitauri. And their eyes were an unsettling shade of blue that even from several yards away, their color was unmistakable to Natasha. One of the monsters growled at her then fired a strange looking gun which obliterated a piece of the road that it had hit, a spot that she had been standing in mere seconds ago.

Black Widow ditched her sword, knowing full well that against five of these creatures, she would need to take them down as fast as she could. The familiar weight of her dual pistols pressed on her palms and she charged forward, firing at the group before her. One immediately went down, blood and gore violently exploding forward to splatter onto the debris covered asphalt. She rolled behind a nearby car when a rain of ammunition from their own guns rained down upon her. The metal screeched loudly in her ears as it took all of the damage from the monsters she was battling with.

When at last there was a break in their attacks, Natasha popped up over the hood of the car and fired into them again. They screeched as bullets tore into them before firing in return at the woman. She ducked back down behind the car, feeling it rock with the force of their attacks before popping up again when it stopped. Her bullet found the head of one of the monsters and it dropped like the first one she shot. Easily, she took down two more with her bullets which left only one more.

Before she could kill it, she was forced to duck again. The vehicle screeched and rocked once more, the frame groaning beneath the damage it was taking. After nearly a minute of fairly frequent firing, Natasha flattened herself to the ground to look under the car. It was still just the one but it was stepping forward at a steady pace, most likely planning to overwhelm her. Her lips curled into a smile.

'Not today.' She thought and put a bullet in it's foot.

The creature howled in pain and stopped the advance. This gave Natasha the time she needed to take it down. When she popped up it was very close and it immediately tried to shoot at her. She dived to the side, curling into a roll before the momentum allowed her to regain her footing. By that time, she was nearly ontop of the monster. With a well-placed kick, she broke it's knee, earning a roar of pain. The barrel of her gun was then shoved into it's mouth and there was but a brief moment before she fired. The head jerked back from the force of the shot, blood, bits of bone and gore splattering her and the pavement.

The back of her hand wiped off some of the green blood that had peppered her face. Natasha picked up the katana again, and settled it inside of her belt, the sheath bumping against her thigh and hip with every movement she made. Then she was off running again, heading towards the beam that was holding open the massive portal, from which thousands of these creatures were pouring out. It soon became glaringly obvious that it would be far too taxing on her energy to run all the way the powerplant. And Steve wasn't here to give her a boost up this time. She looked around for a car or some sort of vehicle that she could hijack.

When there was a suddenly explosion of machinery over her head, Natasha ducked and tried to roll out of the way. Green eyes darted upwards to discover what the source of the explosion was. When she saw a humanoid shape shooting through the air, heading rapidly towards the ground, she thought it was Tony. The figure crashed into a nearby building, shooting straight through the wall and inside.

"Tony!" Natasha shouted in horror.

Her heart froze when she saw a group of those green-skinned monsters rushing inside of the hole to attack her friend. The katana sang its deadly song as she pulled it out of its sheath, steel glinting in the sunlight. Because she was coming up behind them, she had the advantage, and they never got the opportunity to fire at her. She sliced with precision into the alien's neck, spraying its comrades with its blood. With one smooth movement she yanked her blade free from the prison of flesh she had embedded it into before stabbing into the heart of another enemy.

Then they all became aware of her presence and turned to respond to her attack. They were all cut down ruthlessly, their corpses still bleeding after she was done. She sheathed the katana and climbed over the rubble, searching for Tony. When she could not see him, she touched her hand to her communicator, desperately.

"Stark! Stark! You copy?"

"Yeah, I copy princess. What's going down? Did you need your knight in shining armor, me, to save you?"

She rolled her eyes at his flirtation. Only he would get knocked viciously from the sky and go back to making jokes even though he almost got killed.

"Don't act like you didn't just get blown through a building."

"What are you talking about? I'm still up top shooting down some fliers."

It was then that she noticed the noises going on over the communicator such as explosions and she realized he was telling the truth.

"Check in. Is everyone alright? Anyone missing?" Steve said over the communicator.

"I'm still doing fine." Barton said, "And I see both Thor and Banner tearing up the army so they're ok."

"We're all fine, Natasha. What did you see?"

A frown came across her face, "I'm not sure. I'll go check it out."

"Be careful sneak attack. We got enough unwelcome guests out here. Who knows what it was that you saw."

"I'll be careful."

Natasha went deeper into the building, stepping over rubble and debris before she found a puddle of blood. There was a lot of it too and heading down these stairs into what looked like, a basement, there was a trail of it and foot prints. She pulled out her guns then as a precaution, in case she needed to respond quicker than the katana would have allowed her.

It seemed to take forever to get her down to the basement but she was completely stunned by what she saw when she did get there. For starters there was a phenomenal amount of blood, more so than any human could have possibly hoped to have lost and lived from. There was even bits of flesh clung to metal bars that jutted out from the wall and the sight made her cringe. As she stepped further inside there was the figure of something that once looked human.

As it was then, it was barely recognizable and it would even be hard pressed to say that this pile of mutilated flesh and bone was once a person. Natasha was no stranger to blood or unsightly things but the over whelming metallic stench and the grotesque body before her made her stomach queasy. As she drew closer, she could make out more definite features and it was evident that this definitely was a person. What was more shocking was they were alive! There was the faint rattling breath from blood filled lungs, but the person was most definitely alive. However how long they would remain that way, was likely to be a very short time. She looked closer at the figure and then leapt back in shock.

It was Loki.

"Holy shit…" Natasha whispered.

That would explain why he was alive, no human would be alive after that kind of impact. He was wheezing heavily and blood was trickling from his mouth but he was alive. But this sight made Natasha wonder about the true strength of these creatures. Just the fact that they put him in this atrocious state speaks volumes. Granted that fall from the sky probably did not do him any favors. The only thing, she could think, was if a very large group of those aliens attacked him all at once. Loki maybe a God and a trickster but he was no Thor and he was not one for knock down drag out fights, especially in those odds.

The building trembled beneath a terrible explosion, causing Natasha to stumble. With one last look at the fallen Asgardian and rushed back up the stairs to make sure everything was ok outside. Natasha soon had to struggle to maintain her footing as the walls quaked and rumbled before they began to crack. What was going on? She never got to see for halfway up the stairs, the stone walls began to crumble and pieces fell from the ceiling. Including a rather large fragment that struck the red-head on the side of the head, sending her rolling back down the steps. The world darkened before her eyes, tunneling into a more narrow vision until the only light narrowed to two pin pricks. She fought desperately for consciousness but like trying to clutch a handful of sand, the more she struggled to get a strong hold on it, the more it slipped away.

The last sight she saw was the stairway caving in, blocking both her and the god in the basement before she slipped away into unconsciousness.


	15. Armistice

**IA/N: I don't actually know Natasha's age so I'm pretty much just taking a guess. Sorry if it's not right. xD Also I PASSED CHEMISTRY! 8D Woot! Now to survive Anatomy and Physiology 2. D:**

Chapter 14 Armistice

When consciousness crept its way back into her mind, Natasha's head was throbbing painfully. The pain was intense and it made her cringe with each pulse. When she came to her senses, the young woman looked around to observe her surroundings. It was darker in the basement, there were small slotted windows close to the ceiling and based on the light streaming in, it would be dark in a few hours. She became vaguely aware of distant speaking. She then realized that it was her communicator. The spy stumbled to her feet and began to search for her only outlet of communication to her teammates.

"Romanoff! Do you copy? Please respond!"

Natasha put the earpiece in, "This is Agent Romanoff. I copy."

There were sounds of relief coming in from the other side.

"What happened?" Fury asked, "Where are you?"

"When I was investigating what looked like a human crashing through a nearby building, the stairs to the basement collapsed. I was hit on the head and knocked out. I only just regained consciousness. I'm not sure where this building is in the city though. Where is everyone else?"

Barton's voice came over the line, "We're all back at the ship, Tasha. There were too many of them and we were forced to retreat. We tried to look for you but we couldn't find you."

"Other than obvious head injury, are you alright Sneak Attack?"

Natasha couldn't help but smile at Tony's concern. He may not show it at first, but deep down he does care about the team and it bothered him if he believes something happened to them.

"Yes, I'm ok, Tony."

"I'll be the judge of that."

A grimace came across her face for she knew that voice to by Alyson's. She was suddenly very happy that the team didn't have a visual on her.

"After getting hit in the head you could have a concussion. Where on your head did you get hit?" the healer asked.

"On the temple."

Reflexively her hand drifted up to touch injury and winced at the contact as the tender bruise throbbed painfully. That was definitely going to be there a while. She forced herself to ignore the wound so she wouldn't focus on the dull pain that was now lingering even after contact.

"Ooh, that gives you a strong chance of a concussion. What's your name?"

"Natasha Romanoff." She answered patiently.

"Ok, and how old are you?"

"Twenty-seven."

"And what city are you in?"

"Miami."

"How did you get there?"

"The Avengers went there as a team to try and stop the invasion of creatures pouring through the portal made by the Tesseract."

"Ok, good. Your memory is normal. Do you have a headache?"

Natasha rolled her eyes, "Well I did get hit in the temple."

"Hm, good point. But watch it. If it doesn't go away for a few days that could be a bad sign. Any nausea? Vomiting?"

"No."

"Do you feel sleepy at all?"

"No."

"Hmmm, well I can't be absolutely sure since I can't check the responsiveness of you pupils, but overall, it looks like you're in the clear. But if you start having memory problems, problems with cognitive function, powerful drowsiness, dizziness, vomiting or nausea you need to contact us immediately so we can try to get you out. Because if you have a bad concussion and you're not showing signs now it could get dangerous." Alyson warned her.

"Right, right we got it, First Aid Kit." Tony said a bit impatiently, "So, I'm dying to know, what was it that you saw crash into the building? I've wanted to know since that investigation got you trapped."

That sentence reminded her about the wounded god in the room. She told them to give her a moment and she scrambled over to his body. He was still unconscious and his breathing was raspy and wheezy, likely due to blood pooling in his lungs. His skin seemed more taut and pale than usual and there were plenty of crusted scrapes and gashes all over him but he was still living.

"You guys aren't going to believe who it is."

"Who is it?" Steve asked.

"It's Loki."

There was an uproar of surprise on the other end of the line, mostly of disbelief. All at once the spy was bombarded with so many questions she could not possibly understand or answer any of them. Things didn't quiet down until Director Fury barked the order for everyone to shut up. Then she could hear questions.

"How fares my brother?" Asked Thor almost desperately, "Is he injured?"

"Yes. He's very injured but he's alive. Those monsters turned on him, I saw them trying to go into the building after him."

"I believe those creatures are the Skrull."

"Who?" Natasha blinked.

"They are inhabitants of space, like the Chitauri, but they are far more vicious. They also are dangerous because they can take on the form of whomever they wish. Even mimic their voices."

"But why would they turn on Loki?" she heard Banner inquire.

"It is likely that they were merely using him to reach earth and then claim it for themselves. Once they got through, they wouldn't need him anymore. Does he have the scepter with him?"

She had forgotten about scepter in the rush of events and looked around the basement but could see no sign of it.

"No. It's not here."

"They probably took it from him or he dropped it during the chase." Clint surmised.

"Despite recent events, this could work out in our favor."

"How do you work that out, Goldilocks?"

"We do not yet have the option to take down the Skrull since they still have a portal from which they could receive reinforcements. With Natasha on the inside she could try and locate the scepter and close the portal. Also, once my brother recovers, I'm certain he would be helpful."

"Thor,"Natasha said, "I know he's your brother and all but we can't trust him. Why would you say he would willingly help us anyways?"

"My brother wanted earth for himself and he would not respond well to the betrayal he has just suffered. He would have no reason to work against us when it comes down to defeating the Skrull."

"A-are you sure that's a good idea Thor?" Banner asked, "Whether he has probably cause to help us or not, we can't trust him."

"I'll need all the help I can get." Natasha grudgingly admitted, "I'm already in a tight spot being on the inside of this city, trying to search for a single object. Not to mention how the streets are likely crawling with Skrulls. If he agrees, I'm accepting the help."

"You sure about this, Tasha?" Clint asked reluctantly, "This is Loki."

"I'm sure. If I'm to do this, I will need whatever help I can get. Alright guys, I need to go look for medical supplies. Someone's got to keep Loki alive and I'm the only one here who can do it."

"Be careful, Agent Romanoff." Fury advised, "We may not be able to pull you out yet if you get into trouble."

"Ok, I'll be careful."

After everyone said their farewells, she closed off the line. The first thing she had to do was see if there was a way to get out of the basement. Or she would have to make an exit by trying to clear away the rubble. She stood and looked around the basement and then focused on the narrow windows at the top of the room. Natasha pulled over a block of cement so she could reach the latch on the window. After fiddling with it for a minute, she managed to get the window open and then pulled herself out after making sure she had all of her weapons.

Then she pulled herself out into the street. The city was in ruins, smoke was still billowing in thick stacks into the sky overhead. This earned a perpetual haze that had fallen over Miami. There were still Skrull zipping by overhead in their hovers so she was going to have to be fast if she didn't want to get caught. She had no idea where the hospital was and she couldn't afford to just wander around until she found it so Natasha wasn't quite sure what action to take. As luck would have it, she wouldn't have to go searching for the hospital. Right across the street there was a convenient store, the windows shattered. Medical supplies would most certainly be in there. They may not be as numerous or advanced as what she could find in the hospital but it would do.

Natasha clung closely to the building, watching carefully as the hovers flew by overhead. She was going to have to time this right. For several minutes she waited for the perfect opening until it finally presented itself and she hurled herself across the street, making a mad dash for the convenient store. She didn't bother using the door, opting to leap through the already broken window and landed smoothly on her feet. Glass crunched beneath her feet and the store was deathly still despite the ruckus that was still roaring outside.

Behind the counter she snatched a large empty grocery bag up and began to fill it with first aid kits, salves, band aids, ace bandages, pain medication, rubbing alcohol and any other medicinal item she could find. Natasha also leapt behind the pharmacy counter that was also in the store and snatched up a bottle of Hydrocodone. There wasn't enough room in the bag to carry too much food out but it would get them through a few days and she managed to squeeze in a few bottles of water. After she was certain that she had covered the basics for now, Natasha went to the window and carefully watched the skies, waiting for another opportunity to dash across the street. When she finally had the chance, her run was more awkward lugging a heavy clunking grocery bag packed full with goods. She was worried for a minute that the bag was going to break and everything would go spilling across the pavement.

Luckily, she made it back without a problem and quickly slipped back into the basement through the window she came from. Loki was still unconscious and it appeared that he was shivering, his forehead lined with sweat, his skin covered in blossoming bruises. Natasha lugged the grocery bag over to him and plopped it down nearby and she knelt down next to his prone form. His breath was erratic and labored and she could see his eyes swiveling in beneath his closed lids. Because of the rapid movements his eyes were making then that means he was likely dreaming. Emerald eyes drifted downwards and she noticed his attire was torn, dirty and bloody. There was one large slash going in a diagonal motion across his torso and it was still oozing blood.

Deft fingers moved to remove his jacket so she could tend to the nasty gash that was still bleeding beneath his clothes. Some muscles in his face twitched and a grunt slipped past his lips but otherwise there was no stirring from him. Natasha then moved to remove the shirt that was plastered to his skin from the dried blood it was then that Loki snapped his eyes open. They were hazy, cloudy with fever and delirium and his hands quickly darted to her throat. The world spun as the god rolled himself over until he was straddling her, she worked fast and quickly fired Widow's Bite and electrocuted him. The god convulsed mildly but it was enough to free herself and get away from him. Loki stumbled to his feet, mumbling looking around wildly until his glazed eyes locked onto her. He moved again but she spoke this time.

"Loki I'm trying to help you!" She exclaimed.

"You'll not take it!" He snarled, "Filthy scum, you will pay for your treachery!"

"Loki, it's me!" Natasha cried, ducking beneath a swing of his fist as he lashed out at her.

His lips curled in a snarl as he limped towards her, "I will exterminate your race! Every last child!"

It was fairly easy to evade his moves since he was limping and clumsy not to mention lashing out in rage and it was easy to predict where he would attempt to strike. His aim was also a little off It only took a few minutes for Loki to wear himself out, which then he collapsed to his knees, his hands struggling to hold himself off the ground. Natasha stood still, waiting expectantly for him to collapse. He wouldn't last much longer and she knew it. His movements were sluggish and clumsy. Within a few short minutes, he fell into unconsciousness again.

It was then that she removed what she needed to gain access to his wounds. She spent a good thirty to forty five minutes trying to clean, disinfect and bandage his wounds. He was still sweating and his fever was still very high. She would likely have to rouse him from unconsciousness to give him the medication he would need to help with the fever.

In the end it took Loki four hours to regain consciousness again, despite her best efforts to rouse him. It was hard to see since there was little light to go by. Some of the street lights were still working and pouring into their hiding place but otherwise there was minimal light. When he awoke, Natasha could hear a groan of pain slide past his lips and even in the dim light, she could see how his eyes pierced through her once they locked on to her. He struggled to haul himself upright, causing the red-head to move to help him. He hissed at her gesture.

"I need no help form a mortal." He snarled, "I am a god."

"A god," she said evenly, "That was on deaths door and whom this 'lowly' mortal saved from certain execution after he was thrown into a building with a horde of Skrull moving in after him."

A dark look passed over his face, "Are they dead?"

"The ones that were about to go in after you? Yes. Though the city is overrun and we are stuck here."

His lip curled in a sneer, "You did not retreat with your precious Avengers?"

"When I came in here to investigate what happened after killing the Skrull, the ceiling to the stairs collapses and some debris hit my head and knocked me out." She explained, "By the time I had regained consciousness the Avengers had already retreated and they could not find me so they were left with no other choice."

"So they abandoned you?" Loki inquired with an amused expression, "Miss Romanoff left to defend herself.

Irritation passed over her features, not at all amused with the game he was trying to play in turning her against her own teammates.

"Yes as that was what the situation demanded. Had any of their roles been reversed with me, I would have made the same call."

His eyes glinted with a delighted gleam and a smirk crawled across his mouth, "Oh, you are far more cold than I expected you to be, Miss Romanoff. It suits you."

"Don't skew my meaning, Loki. You know perfectly well it would not be something I would enjoy but when it comes to the safety of the world, we are not as vital."

"Such a pity for you that one day this world will be held tight with in my grasp."

"We will ensure that does not happen." Natasha informed him with a determination that was stronger than any forged metal.

"You failed this time." He pointed out.

"Yet I do not see you ruling over us."

He scowled unpleasantly, "An unfortunate set back but it will be remedied, rest assured."

The spy took a seat next to him with a bottle of water and extended it to him, "I have a proposition for you."

Loki took the water bottle a bit warily, "Bargaining with villains now, Miss Romanoff? I'm not sure Shield would approve."

"I'm not sure Shield would approve of the Skrull threat that may turn into a global catastrophe."

"Fair point. I will hear your proposition."

"As of now, we both have the same enemy; the Skrull. I aim to attack them carefully, from within the city, dwindle away at their defenses, locate the scepter, close the portal and create an opening for the Avengers to come in. However, I can't accomplish this all by myself. I propose an alliance to take down the Skrull."

"I believe you left out the part where you and your comrades turn upon me the moment the threat is over with. Why should I consider this proposition?"

"Because you can't beat the Skrull on your own either. And I can't speak for the rest of my comrades or Shield but I can promise that I will not turn on you the moment the threat is eliminated, provided you do not do the same to us."

Loki appeared to simmer with anger, "Are you saying that a God cannot handle this despicable race of creatures?"

"Considering the state that you are now after a run in with these said creatures, yes, that is exactly what I am saying."

It stunned her how fast Loki was able to move even when so severely injured. Natasha only had time to blink before his hand was around her throat, threatening to squeeze at any moment. With an even gaze, she stared Loki down, knowing that her words angered him and also proved a point. He would be loath to admit it, but he could not handle the Skrull threat on his own and killing her would severely hurt his chances. Natasha couldn't help but feel a little proud when he grudgingly released her and mentally added another tally under her name.

"Suppose I do agree, how did you plan to start?"

"First getting you healed up. While we are waiting for you to recover your strength I'll scout out the surrounding area. Before I go, be honest, how much pain are you in? I brought medicine to help with it."

A smirk crawled across his face, "Oh that's very humorous, Miss Romanoff. Asking the God of Lies to be honest. Very funny."

"Not now, Loki." She told him annoyed, "do you want the medication or not?"

"I do not need your pitiful medicine. I assure you I am more than capable of handling myself and have experienced much worse pain than this."

She stood easily, "When I get back we can clean up your wounds. God or not, we don't need them festering. Now, do we have a deal? A temporary alliance?"

"I accept your proposition."

"I won't be gone long."

She started over towards the window and just before she could climb out Loki spoke, stopping her in her tracks.

"Oh and do try to not get yourself killed, Miss Romanoff. You're no use to me dead."

Natasha bit back a retort, longing to point out that he was the more injured between the two of them. As she took to the streets again, ducking around corners and down allies, unsure if him saying she was of use to him was a compliment or an insult.


	16. Black Sunday

**A/N: FINALLY! Jesus! I hated writing this chapter! I must have started it about 8 times before I found something I was satisfied with! Ugh! I hope you guys like it because I'm still mad at it! xD**

Chapter 15

It took Loki four days to recover completely from his wounds and they had all seemed longer than the last. During his crippled and useless state, the god had been very temperamental and nearly intolerable. Even on his best days Loki can be testy but when he was injured he was far worse. Natasha was definitely glad to see that her new partner was back at his best. He might be more bearable to deal with now.

"Good morning, Miss Romanoff." Came the smooth voice of Loki, "Now that I am back to full health just what _uses_ did you intend for me?"

She nearly choked on her water as he said this. The young woman was positive she had just heard a faintly suggestive tone to his last sentence. Was Loki _**flirting**_ with her? Surely her ears deceived her. Still maintaining a cool façade, her green eyes swiveled over to the side to observe him. There was a smile on his face, no, a smirk. That was nothing unusual but one corner was lifted slightly higher than the other, hinting that he was indeed, flirting lightly with her. Natasha quickly concluded that he was doing this to toy with her, nothing that he had seriously meant. Loki, if nothing else, did enjoy teasing and antagonizing people. She set her jaw with resolve. He wanted to play that way?

"Oh, I'm sure I can think of a few useful things for you." She said with a flirtatious smile of her own.

Natasha had, admittedly hoped that this would have stopped him from continuing, but if anything, the Asgardian looked like he wished nothing more than to continue to play this game with her. His figure moved, carrying him out of the darker corner that the early morning light had yet to touch, stepping into the golden sun ray that streamed in through the window. The golden light seemed to highlight his raven black hair and accentuate his sculpted cheek bones. Still, despite his advance, Natasha stood her ground, matching his smirk with a challenging one of her own

"And what might they be, hm?" He drawled in a lower voice, drawing very close to her.

She was now wishing she had chosen to ignore his game instead of playing along with it. If she hadn't her heart wouldn't be beating in a confusing way right now. With him being so painfully near, Natasha stiffened ever so slightly to keep from backing away. Yet at the same time, she found herself wanting to draw nearer to Loki. Inwardly she chastised herself for thinking in such a way and continued the game.

"I guess you'll just have to wait and find out."

A white smirk flashed across his face at her challenge, dark green eyes gleaming with mischief. Natasha kept her own expression on, still unwilling to back down from him. His presence was suffocating and even a bit intimidating but still, the young woman met his eyes with her own. Loki needed to know that he couldn't push her around whenever he wanted. There were a few tense moments where they stood in silence, locked in their stare down. Then his dark green eyes widened and quickly moved, shoving Natasha back against the wall beneath the window, hand clutched over her mouth. It happened so fast she never had the chance to react and she thought to lash out at him when he pressed her against the cement behind her, his body molded to hers. But then she saw that he wasn't even looking at her, but looking upwards, his eyes flashing dangerously.

It was then that she heard it.

Footsteps.

And a lot of them. In fact it sounded like there were at least thirty sets passing overhead. They weren't loud, they were soft and if it weren't for the symphony of crunching glass shards and slight scuffing of soles against rubble. They stood in tense silence listening to the Skrull speak in a low, guttural voice in a language that she couldn't understand. It was around five minutes before all of them passed by and Loki pulled away from her. She twisted her mouth into a thoughtful frown.

"What are that many Skrull doing out in the street?" She wondered in a low voice, "We should follow them."

A smile spread across Loki's face, "My thoughts exactly. Hold still Miss Romanoff."

She blinked and looked up at him and saw his hand move towards her face. Natasha did not move as he said and his cold skin settled on her forehead. She felt a faint buzzing against her and she then saw his image flicker briefly. Then all went still and he pulled his hand away. Unsure of what happened, Natasha lifted her hand up and examined it as if she would find what magic he had worked there.

"What did you do?"

"I spelled both of us. To others, we will be invisible; this should make maneuvering a lot easier. "

The spy nodded in understanding, "Let's move then."

The two slipped out of the basement, silent and swift. They tailed the Skrull without speaking to each other, moving like shadows. They walked for about an hour, the Skrull checking buildings for possible survivors as they went. When at last they stopped for good, it was obvious that it was a few miles away from the edge of downtown. Up ahead she could see something faint blue translucent wall flickering in the morning sunlight. She had never before seen such a thing, it almost looked like someone had stretched out an enormous wall of colored plastic wrap stretched taut. Was this some kind of a barrier?

"Loki?" She murmured softly, "Is that some sort of barrier?"

"Yes, but it seems that it is low on power."

It was then that Natasha noticed all of machines in the area. They were large and they all were emitting rumbling purrs with long, thick cables protruding from their sides and hooking up against these small steel pillars. The young woman concluded that these pillars were where the energy was being channeled and from there the barrier would be created. Based on the large number of machines it, apparently, takes a large amount of power to keep the barrier running. This was good news. When the day comes for the Avengers to move on the city, just sabotaging those machines would be enough to bring down the already weak barrier.

Her gaze slipped over to Loki, who gestured for her to follow him. She did so without protest, creeping easily by the Skrull without making a sound. The two wound their way into an ally and the dark God pointed upwards. Natasha nodded and made towards a ladder of a fire escape when she was suddenly seized around the waist from behind and pulled against a strong chest. Instead of a verbal protest, she lashed out physically, her mind thinking it was a threat and she only still when she heard a voice in her ear.

"Be still, Miss Romanoff." He whispered.

The muscles on his frame tensed and suddenly she was flying through the air until they came to a rest on a portion of a fire escape. He paused for a moment before Natasha heard another grunt of effort and they were flying through the air again. The next time they stopped, they were on the roof. What they saw up there was, to best describe it, was like a transport station. Skrull were waiting for small hover crafts to come pick them up and transport them away. Black Widow concluded that it might be almost like a messaging system. She wondered how vast they had set up the network here in downtown.

"Do you see what they're carrying?" Loki whispered in her ear.

She noticed then that the Skrull getting on and off those hover crafts were carrying small boxes a little bigger than her head and each one held a small circle in the center. Natasha quickly saw that the ones arriving had glowing circles while the ones leaving did not. What could they be carrying? She watched for a few more moments before it finally hit her. They're batteries to fuel the machines here. Perhaps they had managed to harness the energy the Tesseract kicks out and use it in batteries to power their machines. But that also meant that if they could figure out how to cut off that way to channel the Tesseract's energy then that would mean they would be without power. This could be used to their advantage later.

"Yes…" She whispered back, "Are those batteries?"

"I believe so. They are harnessing the power from the cube and using it for their other machines. That way they can keep their energy but keep the actual city power down and unusable."

"Let's retreat for now. We need to find more places like this. This delivery system can't be the only one they've set up."

"Agreed."

She felt an arm loop back around her waist again and then they were plummeting off the building. Loki landed easily from a height that would have easily broken her legs had she tried the same thing. Natasha wondered if he was showing off, displaying his power in a method to prove that she needed him. She wouldn't put it past him but she didn't dwell on it.

"How long do you think their power will last if we cut them off from the Tesseract?"

"It's hard to say." He answered, "We'd have to watch to get an idea. Let's first focus on tracking down other weapons and forts here."

The two of them began curving and winding through the city together, now on foot, being careful to keep their voices low and watch out for Skrull on the way.

"The work we have ahead of us…. When we finally move it feels like we'll have to do the job of an army. When it comes time to take action, we'll need a way to get around quickly."

Loki cocked a brow at her, "I'm surprised you haven't mentioned my magic yet, Miss Romanoff."

"That should be a last resort. We should save your energy for when the actual clash begins."

Her brow furrowed in thought, wondering how they could solve this issue they were facing. The two of them would need quick transportation to various areas of the city to be able to pull off any stunts they would need to do. Then it hit her. If the two of them could commandeer a hovercraft that would help them travel to the various locations they would need to get to in a timely manner.

"We could steal a hovercraft!" Natasha exclaimed to him.

"Hm, that is an excellent idea."

"And if possible, we should get one today."

"Moving fast, aren't we?" Loki inquired with a quirked smirk.

"We don't exactly have much time to work with before the Skrull mobilize to the rest of the world. Time isn't exactly on our side. Of course, you wouldn't care about the rest of the world, would you?"

The dark-haired God never said a word but merely laughed in amusement at the red-head who was traveling with him. Natasha wasn't entirely certain what that laugh meant.

Xxxx

After three hours of searching, Loki and Natasha discovered several transport stations, weapon caches and supply stores. The red-headed spy had even procured a pen and a map from an abandoned gas station and marked the important locations so they could find them easier later. After they had gathered all of the information they had needed, the two retreated back to their base. It was around three pm when they made it back and Natasha found herself a bit tired. She longed for a shower but knew that wish would not come true anytime soon. When they had passed by a no longer functioning, but still full fountain, Natasha had been so tempted to leap in to at least rinse off the grime that had accumulated on her skin.

She was afraid to know how she smelled despite the fact that she took the opportunity to cover herself in a mist of Febreeze she found in that gas station. It was also, unmercifully hot, she noted as she took a sip from the warm water from one of the bottles. How did the people of Florida live with this heat? The spy longed to return to New York where the heat was more bearable and didn't last for very long. The young woman reclined on her make-shift palate day dreaming of snow.

"You seem to be very deep in thought, Miss Romanoff."

"Hm? I suppose I am. Nothing important."

"Well if it's nothing important then you wouldn't mind sharing."

Natasha shrugged, not seeing the harm in divulging her thoughts, "I was just thinking how incredibly hot Miami is and how a snow storm would feel amazing at the moment."

Loki looked amused, "That is what occupied your thoughts so deeply?"

"Well, yes."She admitted a bit sheepishly, "Something has to keep my mind off of the sweltering heat, dreaming of snow does the trick nicely."

He smirked for a moment, "Come here, Miss Romanoff."

Natasha frowned and looked at him warily, "Why?"

The chuckled that followed her question was akin to soft velvet rubbing sinfully over her ears. Her frown deepened in response, certain that he was doing that on purpose just to get under her skin. Carefully, her green eyes surveyed him, leaning languidly against the opposite wall, his teeth gleaming at her in the afternoon sun.

"Why, Miss Romanoff, you are giving me the distinct impression that you do not trust me."

"Wouldn't dream of it." She replied sarcastically at his jest.

"Well then, please soothe my _delicate_ (Natasha nearly snorted here) feelings and come over here."

"I'm sure your _**delicate**_ feelings will recover from the injury they have just received. " Natasha quipped shortly.

"I assure you that as your teammate, you have no reason to believe I will do anything horrid to you as long as we are in this alliance." He pointed out smoothly.

"I know that."

"Truly?" He cocked a brow then before a predatory look came across his face, "Then for what reason do you distrust me? Perhaps you fear I will do something that does not inflict physical pain? I am most curious now, Na-ta-sha."

A shiver rolled down her spine at his slow and purposeful use of her first name. She thought to scream at him and demand that he never use her name again for she did not like how it seemed to disarm her whenever he deemed to use it. She much preferred "Miss Romanoff". It seemed more professional and detached.

"Oh and now you seem a bit flustered, Na-ta-sha. Are you alright?"

'Ugh. He is definitely doing this on purpose.' She thought with irritation.

"Fine, I'm coming."

She huffily rose from her crudely made bed and walked towards him, stopping about six feet away from him. From there she glared and folded her arms over her chest, showing she still did not trust him. Loki appeared unperturbed and merely continued to grin devilishly at her.

"Closer." He bade her.

Natasha reluctantly took a few more steps.

"Closer."

She scowled and drew a bit closer, but still remained out of his reach.

"We really must work on these trust issues of yours, Na-ta-sha."

Finally she drew in close enough for him to reach her, feeling that this was as far as she would let herself go. Loki studied her for a minute before yanking her to him, his hands easily catching her own as she moved to attack him. She dropped her attacks when she saw that he was not being aggressive and reluctantly let him pull her against his chest with powerful arms. For a few minutes she stood there, listening to his heart beat before she felt something different. His warmth was slowly fading away and steadily being replaced by a cool temperature. Before she even realized what was happening, Loki was emanating a frigid coolness that soothed away blistering heat that had taken refuge in her flesh.

Natasha looked up in shock, to ask him how he was doing such a thing but was stunned to see that his skin was no longer that fair tone. It was now a deep blue that appeared to be the heart of a glacier. She stared at his face, mesmerized following the odd little ridges that had cropped up on his skin with her gaze. What was this? Thor couldn't do this as far as she was aware?

"Comfortable now, Miss Romanoff?"

She never thought she'd feel this way, but she was almost disappointed that Loki had returned to addressing her so formally. However, she did not dwell on it and instead focused on just what she would say to the god above her.

"Yes. How is it…that you are doing this?"

"A god is capable of many things, Miss Romanoff." He answered evasively.

"Like turning himself into a living cooler?"

He drew his mouth next to her ear, "Among other things."

Natasha stilled in his hold, the chill still radiating off of him and settling into her flesh, chasing away the blistering heat. He was flirting _again_? She had half a mind to push him away and demand who he was but she did not yet want to lose the blessed cool that was radiating off of him. Then she noticed something. Despite the two of them spending the past several days in this ruined basement with no form of bath or shower, not only did he not possess a stench like she did, but he was also very clean. A frown formed on her lips.

"Or perhaps keeping himself clean and odor free despite the lack of any bathing facilities?"

Loki looked at her for a moment bemusedly then he laughed, "Yes, that too, Miss Romanoff."

"I don't suppose you could do that for me too?"

A devilish grin crossed over his face, a glint that she wasn't sure she liked the look of appearing in his eyes. Briefly, she thought about taking back that request, unsure of what he was going to do to her, but decided that she was not going to let him intimidate her. This was likely what he was trying to do and she would not let him win.

"And what would you give me, Na-ta-sha, if I did this for you."

She smirked, "My heartfelt thank you."

The young woman pulled out of his arms then, feeling the delicious cold settled in her bones. Now content, she sat down on her cot, which happened to have a patch of sun resting over it, and relished in its feel on her skin. Loki chuckled and moved a bit forward.

"Not enough, I'm afraid. You'll have to do better than that, Natasha."

"Well I'm afraid that's all I have to give you. We're not exactly in the best situation where we can find payment."

Of course, Natasha knew roughly what Loki wanted. She could see it in the way his frame moved predatorily in the late afternoon light streaming in, sinewy muscles moving beneath the sheath of his skin and clothes. It was in the gleam of his dark eyes, deep forests gleaming sinfully. It was in the curve of his mouth, confident and full of unspoken promises. She set her resolve as he slowly began his approach, clenching her jaw in preparation.

He never reached her. There was a moment with a rough, guttural foreign language and then Natasha found herself instinctively diving to the side. A small explosion followed, rocketing throughout the room and when Natasha looked back she saw a blackened ring, smoking where she had just been sitting. She looked back up to the window to see Skrull, at least three, armed with their strange guns, firing upon her and Loki. She threw herself behind a pile of rubble, feeling the slabs of concrete shudder beneath the impact of the beams fired from the deadly guns. Smoke and plaster kicked up into the air and the red-head looked desperately around for her own guns and Loki.

The God of Mischief had taken cover like she had but had several daggers, razor sharp, between his fingers and whenever there was a break in the attacks, he would throw them, the blades always sinking into their targets. This caused her to wonder just how many Skrull were outside, swarming to attack them. Finally Natasha located her guns and they were not in a good spot. She would have to dive from her hiding place, grab her weapons and dive again behind the pile of rubble Loki had taken shelter behind. The chances of her being able to reach her guns without being hit was extremely unlikely and there was no telling what kind of effects those Skrull weapons would have on her.

Her muscles tensed and coiled beneath her skin, as she prepared herself. The moment there was a break in the line of fire, she would dive for the guns. It felt like an eternity waiting for the hail of ammo to stop raining down on them both, but when it finally did, she sprung forward, curling into a roll, before grabbing her guns. Things went smoothly until she attempted to dive behind the pile of rubble Loki had taken refuge behind, still throwing knives at their aggressors. Pain rocketed through her left leg, concentrating in one large spot on her thigh, eliciting a painful yell. The bursts of light reigned down upon her, scorching her skin painfully where ever they landed. She found herself crawling, adrenaline still pushing through the overwhelming pain she felt, desperately trying to drag herself behind the pile of rubble. She reached, painfully stretching out her arm, body jolting as more bursts of light collided with her.

A cold hand locked around her wrist and hauled her out of the open, jagged rocks digging harshly into her skin. When at last she was behind the refuge of the ruined concrete, Loki let her go and she was content to lay there, pain filling her muscles far too much for her to move. As more attacks rained on them, she choked on dust. Then she struggled valiantly to get off of the floor. It was a tremendous effort that nearly had her collapse again but she managed to succeed. Guns still in hand, she moved unsteadily against the barrier they had and waited for another lull in the attacks. Then she popped up and began to shoot. Her aim was not as accurate as it normally is because her arms were trembling in pain but she did manage to kill a few only to see them replaced by more. The noise was attracting more and more Skrull and if they didn't escape then they would be captured or killed.

"We have to figure out a way to get out of here!" She shouted over the noise to Loki.

By the look on his face, she deduced that he already knew that and had a plan. A hand darted out and settled on her hip and she felt a burst of anger. This was definitely NOT the time for his flirting. Then she felt his fingers hook around one of the discs that her belt had and pulled it away. There was no smirk on his face, no taunting laugh, he was completely serious and he looked deadly. She then realized what he planned to do and put her guns in their holsters on her thighs, locking them into place. With an icy expression, he threw the disc at the window and it exploded upon contact. The moment that happened he scooped her up and rushed out the window, harshly kicking some Skrull in the face. The running he was doing was painfully jostling her body and rattling her bones and hazing over her brain.

Her vision darkened, agony cutting straight to her core. She fought, struggled desperately to stay conscious but adrenaline could only go so far when it came to the injuries she had just sustained. Her eye lids drooped and she drifted off into blackness to the sound of gunfire and the smell of smoke and pine needles.


	17. Heady Reminders

**A/N: Thank GOD that semester is over! Ugh, why did I decide to try to go for Respiratory Therapy again? I swear by the time I get out of college I won't have any brain cells left! Spontaneous cellular combustion was a regular occurrence! Anyways, here you guys go. Sorry it's been a while. Thanks to all who stuck with me and are still patient with my snail's pace updating! **

Chapter 16

When the darkness slowly fell away, drawing back like a curtain opening for the beginning of a play, there was a never ending span of blue hanging over head. It still felt distinctly warm but not as overbearingly hot as it had been and she concluded that it was because of the ever constant wind she felt ruffling her hair. Natasha blinked, feeling her eyes water in the whipping gusts rushing over her and watched fluffs of white roll by over head. She wondered briefly what had happened but then the memory of the Skrull swarming them flooded back to her memory. This spurred her to sit up, her side protesting very noticeably as she did so. When she heaved herself upright she was surprised by what she saw.

A great blue canvas flecked with fluffs of white. Piercing the sky with a quiet fierceness were hundreds of pointed towers, covered in glass that blazed in the sunlight that was hovering just on the horizon. Natasha was unsure if it was dusk or dawn but that was the least of her concerns. What took her attention was that she was on a skyscraper, miles in the air. The wind was great and sometimes it even felt like it was going to blow her off the building to plummet to her death.

"Ah, you awaken."

She turned her head sharply to her right and there, leaning against the side of the building was Loki, looking untouched by the attack they had just experienced. He had a smirk again but only a small crooked one, almost as if he were relieved to see her wake. Natasha looked down, surveying her injuries through the tears in the full body suit she wore and was surprised to see that they were scabbing over and did not look as bad as the initial attacks had felt.

"How long was I out?" She inquired in wonder, knowing it must have taken days for her wounds to heal to the point that they have.

"A day. You woke fairly quickly."

"Wait, if I've only been out for a day, how is it that my wounds have already half way healed?"

"While my brother," he said with distaste, "Chose to pursue the arts of war and court it, there in, I opted to learn a few things from our healers. It served us well considering the trouble he oft led us into."

"The God of Mischief hated trouble?"

He chuckled a bit, "Only the kind my brother brought."

"So you mean to say he brought more trouble than you did?" Natasha asked incredulously.

"Brought yes." A sly grin crossed his face, "But I _caused_ more. Brother, likes to go hunting for it, I create it."

There was the Loki she knew. The red-head suddenly was struck with a thought. Why did Loki save her? Surely he could manage undertaking the Skrull on his own? So why would he bother hauling her out of there? A thoughtful frown crossed her face before she turned to look at the God so near to her.

"Why did you save me?" She asked, "Wouldn't it have been better for you if I had perished in that raid?"

"Oh, you sell yourself short. For the time being we have reached an accord, an alliance and I assure you that you are more useful to me alive than dead. And I must admit, you are rather…entertaining, far better company than my brother, I'm certain."

Some people might have been offended by Loki stating that he only saved them merely out of convenience and his own benefit but this was how the God was. The fact that he had implied that she was somewhat of pleasant company was a great compliment or at least that's how Natasha viewed it. Loki didn't really seem to care for people at all, regardless of where they are from so for him to find her pleasant company, it was a bit flattering.

"From you that's practically a proposal of marriage." Natasha joked, propping herself up against the building as a breeze ruffled her hair.

"Don't let it go to your head now." Loki smirked, "I may end up retracting that compliment."

"I'm certain I'll survive. By the way, I'm curious, why are we on the top of a skyscraper?"

A sly grin crossed his face, "Because the Skrull seem to neglect checking up the roofs for survivors. It's a good place where we can watch their movements and should we be discovered by one, well, it's a long way down. It will merely look like an accident and we needn't worry about swarms of them coming to investigate."

It truly is a great idea. Natasha was now inclined to think why they hadn't thought of it sooner. However, things were done now, and now they had a better place to stay. This could help them stay out of sight, have a good view of the movement in the city and should the weather take a nasty turn, there was a door that lead to the stairwell and take refuge in there.

"Brilliant." She admitted.

"You expected anything less?"

Natasha gave him an unamused stare, "You're welcome, oh modest one."

Loki laughed, "Now hush, Natasha." She shivered at him speaking her name, "I need to finish healing your wounds so we can get back to work."

The dark-haired god rose and approached her figure propped against the wall of the stairwell. She felt herself stiffen when he drew close, icy hands now encased in a soft glow of blue and lightly stroked her wounds. The flesh grew even closer together, slowly forcing the congealed blood upward in a mound where it eventually fell off her skin to lie on the cement. After her wounds had healed she also noticed that she felt less sore and stretched languidly, trying to forget how Loki's hands felt on her skin when he had healed her.

"Why didn't you completely heal me earlier?"

The look on the god's face was dark, "I had to spend quite a bit of energy to get us away. And I had to battle with many Skrull. I healed your wounds so they would not be so severe and then I rested. My strength is not infinite, Natasha. Even a God must rest."

It was strange hearing him talk like that. Admitting that even he had his limits. Loki had always been proud, high in his sense of superiority but to hear him openly speak of how he was not indestructible was unusual. Perhaps he only spoke that way when it came to humans? To others he felt were beneath him?

"It's odd hearing you say that."

"I am not my brother. I know my limits while he does not. Why is it do you think that he brought so much trouble? I, however, know what I can and can't do. Now, enough chatting, we have work to do."

"What did you plan to do?" Natasha asked, rising to her feet, feeling much better now that her wounds were healed completely.

"Search for a way to cut off their power. We won't be able to commandeer the Tesseract but if we can sabotage their connection to it, then it might give us an advantage and a marvelous distraction."

"Did you have a place you wanted to check first? Perhaps we should split up."

"Under normal circumstances I would agree but now the Skrull know that we are in the city and they will be on the hunt for us. It would be unwise to divide ourselves. You should get in contact with your precious Avengers. Doubtless they would like to know that you are alive and well in my care."

She glared at his mischievous grin and was surprised to find that her communicator was in her pocket. She had expected that it would have fallen out after their last escape. Loki, however just gave her a knowing smirk but said nothing. It made it abundantly clear that he had made sure that she had the communicator. That or he had gone back for it. Natasha decided not to ask and instead focused on setting up the connection.

"This is Agent Romanoff. Does anyone copy?"

"Copy that." Came Fury's voice, clearly irritated yet relieved at the same time, "What has happened? We've been trying to get in contact with you for the past two days, Romanoff!"

Her eyes widened considerably then, "But I never heard the communicator!"

She heard a soft chuckle, causing her head to dart to the side. It had come from Loki and he was leaning against the building with the wind rustling his hair, looking quite satisfied with himself. Natasha glared at him murderously, now understanding that he was responsible for her never hearing her team trying to contact her.

"Must be bad reception or something." She continued, "Loki and I plan to conduct sabotage today. Does the team have a visual on the wall around Miami?"

"We do, Sneak Attack." She smiled at Tony's voice, "We're locked, loaded and ready to go."

"Keep your eyes peeled. We plan to have that barrier down within the next few days. And by then we should have the base of operations located so we'll know what to attack first."

"Good work, Romanoff." Fury praised.

"Is the team ok?" She asked.

"We're all ok, Sneak Attack. Just trying to keep our heads low, waiting to hear what's going on."

"Right. Sorry about that. Things have been a bit crazy on this side."

"Well going right into Skrull territory will do that to you." Barton chimed in.

Natasha chuckled at that, "Very true."

"How fairs my brother?"

Her jaw clenched at the question from Thor, "Alright."

'Though I probably can't say the same when I get done with him after that stunt he pulled.' She thought furiously, her fingers clenching.

"Once that wall comes down, we'll be there for you." Steve promised, "Be careful until then, Natasha."

"Will do. Which side of the city are you guys at?"

"We've been in sight of the east side of the city." Clint said, "We don't plan on relocating."

"Keep an eye out and when we get the power cut off, we'll contact you. Be ready to move upon a moments notice."

"Watch your back, Romanoff." Director Fury ordered, "We need you."

The red-head ended the connection and stood there for a moment, feeling her anger burn. Loki had intentionally kept the calls from her team at bay and that infuriated her. They could have held some important information, something bad could have happened to them and he had kept their communication attempts a secret. She whirled on him and seized the front of his jacket lapels and shoved him against the wall.

"You son of a bitch!"

"Now that's not very nice, Natasha. Shouldn't you treat your teammates nicely?" The green-eyed god drawled.

"Shouldn't teammates inform each other of when the rest of their group is trying to contact them?" She snapped, "They could have had important information."

"Oh it was just a bit of fun."

"Fun? Fun?! You found cutting off the communications between me and the rest of the Avengers fun?"

Furious, she pushed him further into the wall, her upper lip curled and his eyes seemed to darken in pleasure before he smirked even wider, seized her wrists and reversed their positions, faster than she thought he was able to move. Her hands were on either side of her head and his knee was pressed between hers, keeping them separate, while he drew closer, overwhelming her with his presence.

"Did you forget who I was, Natasha?" He purred, looking down at her, "Who I am? Hm?"

"I'm not entirely certain I ever really knew to begin with."

He chuckled, his chest vibrating against hers as he pressed into her, "Smart woman."

"What if they had been in trouble?" She growled, her back still against the wall.

"Oh? And you would have been so heroic and come to their rescue? How do you propose you would have done that when we are trapped in here? So, in a way, I did you a favor."

"Bull shit. You didn't do it to help me. You and I both know that."

Loki laughed, "So perhaps you haven't **completely **forgotten who I am. Shall I remind you?"

Something dark lurked in his eyes and the short time that she was given to see it, Natasha felt nervous. The hungry gaze he was giving her reminded her of a starving beast, a beast about to devour her. He moved, his dark head drawing closer until he crushed his mouth against hers. The kiss was dark, forceful, domineering and an embodiment of everything that he was. When Natasha opened her mouth in shock, a rumbling, masculine growl purred in the back of his throat and he pressed harder, tongue rushing in to explore her.

At first she struggled, fighting to break free from his hold but they grew weaker until she found herself returning the kiss almost as insistently. Loki gave a dark purr and attacked her mouth more aggressively but did not release her hands, only pressed closer to her. Something resembling a moan murmured in the back of her throat and she pushed her own tongue forward. There was no thought within her mind, only the strong desire and urge to be closer to him. Natasha brought her frame against his and his hands left her wrists. One entangled into her hair, grabbing a fistful and he used it to control her head as he pleased, the other snaked around her waist and drawing her forcefully against him. The red-head buried her right hand into his own black hair and the other clutched the back of his neck as they kissed even more intensely.

He pulled away and Natasha hated how she gave a very soft moan of protest as he left her lips. But her complaint, however quiet, was short lived before his teeth found purchase on her neck and nipped at the junction of her pulse. She gasped and he pulled her head back to gain better access to her neck, his tongue and teeth wickedly dancing across her skin. When he pulled away so his lips were just barely touching her skin, she gave a soft whine and she tugged his head forward. Loki allowed it and he laughed against her throat, sending chills down her spine. He brought his mouth to hers once more, silencing some words that had been forming in her throat before he pulled away completely.

"Do you remember now, Natasha?" He drawled, a smirk on his face and his eyes lidded heavily.

An answer did not come from her lips as she was busy panting, trying to calm herself. However, she did cast a green glare his way, frowning which only seemed to amuse him further. Her face was lightly flushed but to her frustration he seemed to give no outward signs of how they had been kissing. Unable to handle his penetrating stare anymore, she scoffed.

"Let's just go." She growled.

"As you wish."

She hated the tone of mockery in his voice and she made a mental vow to get back at him for this but didn't have much of a chance to think on it for he seized her around the waist, and leapt off the side of the building. If Natasha was a lesser woman, she would have screamed. As it were, she merely had a sharp intake of breath and clung to his shoulders. The air rushed up to engulf the two and her red hair was a whirl around her face, making it impossible to see. They stopped abruptly and she realized that they had landed on the lower sky scraper next to the one that they were originally on. Loki moved effortlessly, never letting her feet touch the ground.

It was almost strange. At first glance, the God seemed to not hold such strength. At first glance, if one assumed he was human, he was tall, lean, corded with strong muscle but certainly did not look strong enough to hold Natasha and keep her feet from touching the ground with only one arm. It just always put her off to see such strength and power coming from such an unassuming frame. Natasha gritted her teeth as she tried hard to not think about how nice his powerful arm felt around her waist, keeping her effortlessly off the ground. When at last they were on the ground again, Loki set her down on her feet and Natasha was more than happy to walk on her own two legs.

In a way, Natasha was glad that she was back in dangers grasp because the risk kept her from thinking about the god who was traveling close to her. Kept her from being aware of his piercing green eyes that seemed to look into her soul. As they drew closer to the area that held the transport crafts, they had to slip into more alleys and more shadows to avoid being seen. Sure they could handle a couple of Skrull, but the inevitable noise would draw more and neither wished to be swarmed.

They were only about a block away when suddenly they were forced to stop. A child, a little boy about the age of nine had come around the corner, into their line of sight, followed by a woman in her forties, obviously the child's mother. They caught sight of Natasha and the woman rushed forward.

"Please, do you have any food to spare? My son is so hungry."

It was this question that made Natasha's own stomach growl in retaliation, reminding her that they had left all of their supplies back at that basement and she had not eaten since yesterday morning. They had nothing although she suspected that even if they had it, Loki would not spare any of it. In fact he responded just as she expected him to.

"We have nothing for you, idiot woman." He snapped impatiently.

She appeared to either ignore him or not care, "Please!" She cried, "We're so hungry! Just a little bit?"

The woman, a dirty forty something year old fell to her knees, crawling towards him at her desperate plea, and Natasha flinched not just to see the woman in such a state but because she was also being quite loud. Her grimy hands took hold of the hem of his jacket, tugging at the fabric. Loki looked disgusted and in one swift movement backhanded the woman so hard, it snapped her neck. The child, who had witnessed his mother fall lifelessly to the ground, began to scream but was cut short when a knife suddenly buried in his throat. The boy gurgled wetly and blood streamed from his mouth and onto the pavement. Natasha watched in horror at the sight as the God shoved the child to the ground and walked by it, the boy clutching his throat, eyes wide with terror. It was when she looked up and stared at Loki's back that she realized something;

She HAD forgotten who he was.

"You killed that boy."

She said, getting on her tip toes to whisper in his ear, the wind whipping past them on the hover craft. Her arms were wrapped around his waist to keep herself from being thrown off. He was a good rock, not at all budging from the turbulence that they were experiencing. His chest and torso rumbled with soft laughter at her statement.

"Yes and that woman as well if you recall." He replied.

She swallowed, "That was unnecessary."

"Oh? What would you have suggested then? Let the brat scream until the Skrull were swarming us?"

"It wasn't necessary to kill the mother, which was what started it."

"True, but the woman was being a little loud and it would have doubtless drawn the attention of the Skrull as well. Desperation makes humans annoyingly stubborn and persistent."

She suddenly wanted to bash the God's brains in, "Sorry that we are such a trouble for you."

"Oh I know that it comes as a nature to you. That will be fixed when I claim this world for myself, as is my right."

She opened her mouth to say something to that when Loki banked suddenly, bringing them to touch down on a building, the engine dying as he killed the power. Now that she didn't have to, she released her hold on Loki and hopped off the hover craft, keeping low since she knew that they were near the Tesseract. He followed suit, flitting quietly to the edge where she had moved to. On the ground was the bright glowing blue cube secured in a machine, multiple cords running out of the device and snaking off to other locations. The more Natasha looked, the more she didn't like it. Getting down there and eliminating the Chitauri without drawing attention would be a very challenging task. Loki might be able to do it but with her gun, she could not. With how many there were down there, the Skrull would need to be slain all at once and quietly.

'What I wouldn't give to have Clint with me right now.' She thought with a frown.

"How do you propose we get down there?" She asked in a soft whisper.

He flicked a casual gaze over to her, "We don't need to…."

She watched as his brows furrowed in concentration. She watched in surprise as suddenly his form flickered, faded and then vanished from sight. Natasha's eyes widened as she tried to lock onto him but could not find him. She couldn't even HEAR his footsteps or anything. It wasn't until she felt something settle on the side of her face that she knew where he was. Then words were whispered into her ear.

"I'll cast the same illusion on you."

A faint trickling sensation began to slip over her, like someone had drizzled but a splash of icy water over her, the cold enveloping her. As it spread Loki's image began to slowly flicker back into existence before he was standing quite clearly in front of her again. Natasha stood then, smooth muscles raising her easily to her feet and stepped closer to him. Loki brought his arm around her waist again and tugged her to his chest tightly before leaping off the building and landing unbelievably quietly on the ground. Once there he released her and crept forward, Natasha following closely behind him. He silently directed her over to one side of the cube to stand and pull the wires. Even through the thick metal container, she could feel the power radiating off the Tesseract. It was exhilarating yet intimidating at the same time. It seemed to give her strength and yet it also told her that it could utterly destroy her entire existence. Natasha pulled a knife out from her boot and Loki produced one of his own. He made eye contact with her before beginning a countdown on his fingers. Once he had finished, they both sliced through the cords.

Electricity crackled around them for a moment, hissing from the severed cables before Loki suddenly tackled her to the side. Bullets rained down on where they had stood but all missed them easily. He grabbed her again and easily dashed away with her in tow and in only a few leaps from fire escapes, he made it to the top of the roof again. From the top of the building, they could see the barrier that had been erected around the city. It glowed brighter for a moment before flickering erratically. Loki pulled her onto the hover craft and she touched her hand to the communicator in her ear.

"Fury!" Natasha shouted, leaning into Loki's chest for support, "Get the team together to move out! The barrier is down but it will only be down for a little bit so we have to act fast! Rendezvous with us at the capital!"

"Copy that, Romanoff!"

Bullets whizzed by them but all missed or glanced off Loki's skin. As they darted across the sky, over the city in the hover craft, they were nearing up on a weapons cache, containing all sorts of explosives and volatile chemicals. A smirk on her face, Natasha drew her gun, took aim and fired. The air quaked with the sheer volume of the explosion and she felt the wave of energy rush over her as they fire mushroomed upwards and kicked out a pillar of smoke. As they drew closer to another transport station, she pulled several of her explosive discs out and threw them down, sending fire and pain raining down on the Skrull.

Soon there were other vehicles hot on their trail, firing their guns at them, Loki swerving to avoid the blasts. She called to him, told him that he could slacken his hold and he did as such, trusting her judgment. Natasha twisted in his grasp and curved around his torso, aiming her gun at one of the many Skrull pursuing them. The first shot missed its mark and so did the second, but her third found its target in the brain of one of the pursuers. The vehicle lost control and spun into one of the others, causing both to crash and spin out of control into a building nearby, where they both went up in flames.

She clutched Loki's waist when he made a sharp turn to avoid some shots that were sent their way and Natasha returned some fires from her own gun. The remaining pursuers fell from their hover crafts and descended to the harsh concrete below that waited to greet them. It felt like she had only blinked a few times before they arrived in the courtyard right in front of the capitol building. The Avengers were not there yet, but other Skrull were. Natasha leapt off of the vehicle once it landed, pulled out her guns and proceeded to shoot them down. Loki, however, was using his knives, easily taking them down with a well placed throw. She also noticed that he was particularly fond of placing illusions of himself to trick them closer before coming up behind the Chitauri that fell for it and then gutting them.

They fought, side by side, lending each other aid and bringing down whatever enemy came their way for what seemed like an age before at last, the sound of thunder crackled the air and Thor descended from the skies, lightning raining down upon the Chitauri advancing menacingly on herself and Loki. He landed onto the concrete, Mjolnir clutched in his hand. Close behind him came Tony who landed easily next to him.

"Nice work, sneak attack."

"Good to see you Tony." She laughed.

"Likewise princess."

They could hear a plane getting closer in the background until it appeared over head, sending rushes of wind over the group before landing and powering down. Out of it came Clint, Steve and Bruce, all of them in their respective suits. Well except for Bruce. But he would be soon enough.

"I'm glad that we will be fighting beside each other again, brother."

Loki sneered, "Don't get sentimental brother. This is only temporary."

"It doesn't have to be. Come home after this. I'm sure all will be-"

"Come home so you can, what, put me back in a cell? No, brother. I will only return to Asgard to claim it for myself and for nothing else."

"Alright, Brady bunch." Tony interjected, "As charming as this family reunion is, I think there are some nasty little Skrull that need to be exterminated."

Natasha smiled. This was going to be fun.


End file.
